You Hang in There
One of the surprising aspects of being a divorced woman is the amazing people I meet and talk to as I go about the business of changing my life. As I shift names on credit cards and reconcile other personal details, I spend a lot of time telling a lot of strangers about what is going on in my life. And here’s the weird thing: most of them have gone through it too. As a whole, I have found these individuals to be infinitely kind, patient, and willing to help.
The other day, I called up the credit card company to get my name changed. When the customer service representative asked me for the reason why and I explained, she said in a lilting Southern cadence, “I know what you are going through, when I went through my divorce, I got down to 82 pounds.”
As we concluded the call she said, “Now, Miss Azalee, you hang in there. Things are going to get better.”
I wished I could record her affirming voice, filling in the names of all the ladies I know who are traversing the living hell of ending a marriage and navigating the unbearable pain of betrayal trauma. So, I’m going to reiterate what that sweet lady said: you hang in there. Things are going to get better. You are going to heal.
I am intrigued by the picture I used to head this post. The woman appears to sit on a swing over a chasm. Yet, she doesn’t portray a sense that she is desperate or unsure. She’s got her hands on a safe surface, but she’s not gripping in panicked desperation. Though it seems she is perched over an abyss, there is a confident command in her posture.
She’s hanging in there.
We may be hovering over own personal abyss. One that was not of our making or choosing. I would have given anything to save my marriage and keep my family together. Sadly, after a time, that was no longer an option. The tumult of an unknown future may be all that we can see when we look forward. But we can face this with quiet confidence–because we’ve got this. Many of us haven’t been given any other choice.
We’re going to hang in there. We are going to trust that a loving Heavenly Father knows our pain and is in charge. Always. Forever.