Childhood Heroes...

"Suffering passes, while love is eternal. That's a gift that you have received from God. Don't waste it." 
--Laura Ingalls Wilder

I know my writing here can be kind of sad and moody most of the time. I process things better when I get my thoughts out and can reorganized them and delete them and write them out again. The truth is that sometimes I do struggle with depression. I try to hide it from people because I desperately want to be accepted and liked and I believe the things I wrestle with make me less valuable to others.

So I love this quote...that love lasts after the suffering passes. I'm not the sum of my weaknesses. I'm not defined by my struggles. Love will conquer because God is love and He will win. And although it isn't appropriate or necessary to share my struggles with everyone I meet I can know that real love won't reject me when sadness in life leads to depression.

I think I trust Laura's words because she experienced a lot of sadness and loneliness in her life. I guess the bright side of experiencing sadness is you really can offer true empathy and hope to others too. I'm feeling pretty grateful for the recorded words of many people. I draw encouragement from them. There's comfort and even community in knowing you aren't alone in your struggle.