To The Survivors, I See You.

I believe that we've all been through some stuff.That every person on the earth has seen a little life. 

It comes with the territory of being born.  We live in a beautiful, but busted-up world, so we all experience varying degrees of brokenness and loss.  No one gets to skip it.

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The human body's ability to overcome is remarkable.  Our bodies HEAL THEMSELVES.  That right there is stranger than fiction.  When we cut or scrape or burn our skin, IT GROWS BACK.  Some of my loved ones have survived polio, cerebral malaria, strokes, terminal cancer, and everything in between.  Some are surviving MS, lupus, and Parkinson's every darn day.

Our bodies are marvels, but compared to our spirits they're still the weakest link.   The things the human spirit can overcome are astounding.   Every time you walk down the street, you are brushing shoulders with survivors of grief, war, poverty, addiction, loss, hunger, infertility, abuse, betrayal, homelessness, and persecution.  You share the air with these survivors, you share your neighborhood.

As a race, we are surviving moves, and change, and parenting, and marriage.  We are surviving VBS, and bedtime routines, and student loans (STILL), and Wal-Mart after work, and dating in the 21st century.   Amirite?   We are surviving jobs we hate, but must do, for now.  We are surviving in the wake of unimaginable, unforeseeable, unfair personal tragedy.  We are surviving the battles in our own minds - against jealousy, anger, and insecurity.

Here is what I know:  I know that sometimes, usually from across a table, I look another person in the eye, and I see it.

There's a spark of recognition when the survivor in me sees the survivor in them - and in that brief-but-transformative moment, we are standing together, arms around each other's shoulders, surviving.  We almost always smile.

This is the beginning of the #SurvivorSeries that I'll be blogging for the next few weeks.

We are all, in some way, survivors.  It would be such an honor for you to come, read, and share your thoughts and stories as we go.   For the next few weeks the survivor in you is going to see the survivor in us, and we're going to stand together.  We are going to laugh, cry, limp, and dance our way through - together.

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(If you're in my real life circle, there will be coffee - because I laugh, cry, limp, dance, ORGANIZE, and CAFFEINATE myself through all crises big and small.  Like breakfast.  And Sundays.)

Cheers to you, survivors.  I see you.

________________________

A few things I'll be writing about surviving this month:

-Not "doing what you love" -Parenthood - specifically bedtime, mealtime, and other valleys of the shadow of death. -Jealousy -Getting "The News" -A move (or, you know, SEVEN MOVES IN SEVEN YEARS) -A breakup -Faith

and the things that carry us, like:

-Humor -Community -Forgiveness -Silliness -and Love.

See you soon! Love, Kate

The Survivor Series giveaway is still live!  Share a #survivorseries post for a chance to win $150+ in coffee, music, books, and other survival essentials.  Click here for details.

You guys, I wrote some books!  They’re really good and if you buy them and read them I will bake you cookies.*  You can get it on Amazon, from Barnes & Noble, and in bookstores August 1.  

 

*and eat them myself because you live too far away.