IT'S NOT OVER

For the one living between chapters:

Day by day, I hope you can remember, the story is not over.

And as long as you are breathing, there is more life waiting to be lived on this journey.
If you have known what it means to encounter dead-ends in life, then you have likely known what it means to feel the impact of disappointment. You have known what it means to feel like you've lost control over so many of the things you had planned.

And at the same time, you have known what it means to move through the landscape and allow yourself to keep seeking peace and possibility. This has required great vulnerability at times, but you have learned to live with a full heart. A full heart that leads you to feel what you need to feel and encounter grace in a thousand unexpected ways.

Even in the middle of the day when all you can think about is making it through this hour, this shift, or this week, there is room to experience overwhelming peace that says, "There is still room for me to be okay while I wait for the pieces to fall into place."

Until you are able to see what life looks like a month, a year, or a decade from now, I hope you are able to discover what it means to trust and find peace right here, despite what's unknown. For perhaps, this doesn't mean that you've reached the end. Yes, there is a stretching in this space that is anything but easy, and at the same time, where you are right now is a vast, wide landscape, and there is room to continue to exhale and encounter grace wherever you go.

Because perhaps, right here, you are on the verge of something greater than you. Yes, there are unknowns right here, and there are also mountains and rivers in this landscape too. There are places to climb, fly, and explore new things, and there are also places to swim in the deep or rest by the waters.

It might be hard to see all of this in real-time, but maybe that reality doesn't mean that nothing good is happening here. Maybe the reason you can't see what lies on the other side of the dead-end is because it goes beyond what you are able to even comprehend. The future is unknown, but it is so much more than a shadow that lurks in the corners of your worst fears. It is as vast and open as a lush landscape. A terrain of highs and lows, filled with so many things to explore that you never imagined you would know.

And the future is inviting you. It is inviting you. Every new day was once a future moment that was calling you by your name, saying, "Do not be afraid, even though you do not know this place. You are allowed to come alive here and believe the journey is not over for you."

So when you have reached a dead-end, know that there is still time for you to turn around. Turn around and be present to the sunrise and notice how the sunlight illuminates the path. There is still time to go back and start all over again. It's not too late for you, no matter what the calendar says. It may have taken you a while to get here, but overnight, you were given a brand new day. It's time to start over. The story is not over.

More tomorrow…
Sincerely,
Morgan Harper Nichols
@thestorytellerco
@morganharpernichols