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The Beauty in the Bloom

If we’re not growing, we’re dying.

It’s true for plants and people the same.

But here’s the deal: Maybe that “death” you’re experiencing right now—the collapse of a marriage, the diagnosis of a child, that change of job or rebuilding of your faith—is there to re-root you. Maybe the messy parts of life yield the biggest bloom.

I know that’s been the case for me. I lost everything that was certain in my life but in exchange I gained true connection.

“New life starts in the dark. Whether it’s a seed in the ground, a baby in the womb, or Jesus in the tomb. It starts in the dark.”
– Barbara Brown Taylor

Don’t fear the periods of no progress. Nothing blooms year-round, not flowers or families. But that’s okay.

Sometimes things have to “die” for new life to begin.

To More Love,

Stephanie

 

by Stephanie Hanrahan Guest Blogs Inspiration Inspirational Words Love Loving Others Loving Yourself Purpose Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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The Difference Between Living and Being Alive

I have not died during this past year, but it turns out I have not been living either.

That is what my recent trip revealed to me. That there is a difference between living and barely being alive.

I had forgotten, like so many others I presume, what it feels like to be around people. I had misplaced my ability to relax. For the first half of our trip I felt on edge, not knowing if my body was allowed to simply just sit.

When we boarded the plane, I visualized it nose-diving from the sky. It was such vivid imagery that I phoned my sister to make sure she knew where the paperwork was for my kids should anything happen to us.

These are the ripple effects I didn’t even know were occurring within me from last March until now. This is the impact of having underlying anxiety, a worldwide pandemic, and being …

by Stephanie Hanrahan Community Guest Blogs Inspiration Inspirational Words Love In Action Purpose Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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Today Will be a Good Day

Today, I found this note in my car.

It’s really easy for some people to have good days. My husband is one of those people. Dark clouds just don’t exist for him.

Nor does depression.

But that’s me. Someone who has to fight a little harder for her light.

I used to think it must be so hard to live with someone with depression. Someone who’s moody and intolerant and constantly assessing her own feelings. Mental health management often means you have to have a keen sense of yourself. It means you are constantly taking your own temperature, sometimes leaving little space to tend to the needs of others. This isn’t a selfish quality, more so a necessary one. It is the times that I’ve ignored my own inklings and inner stirrings that I’ve suffered the most.

But somewhere along the way of discussing depression aloud and within my marriage, I realized that this wasn’t …

by Stephanie Hanrahan Guest Blogs Inspiration Inspirational Words Love Love In Action Loving Others Loving Yourself Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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An Autographed CD and Hope

Here’s my daughter, holding an autographed copy of Taylor Swift’s latest CD.

And here’s the miraculous story about how she got it:

It’s no secret that Campbell is a Swiftie. I’ve written about it at length. But a few months ago I recounted a day when Campbell told me Taylor Swift’s music saved her. More specifically, “If I close my eyes and listen to this song, all my sadness goes away.”

This is the restorative power of music. It changes people.

And it also connects them.

A friend on this page—a stranger, someone we’ve never met—read that story and resonated so deeply with Campbell she decided to send her this signed CD. She said she had bought two, not knowing who the second one was intended for, until she read that post on that particular day—a day when she needed it the most—and it all became clear.

Taylor Swift likes to sing about an “Invisible String,” …

by Stephanie Hanrahan HeartBeats Inspiration Inspirational Women Inspirational Words Love Love In Action Love in Friendship Loving Others Purpose The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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The Right Friends Can Be Found

Let me tell you about my uterus.

(Or at least my stuffed one.)

When we moved into our new home, I prayed a specific prayer for good neighbors. We lived in a nice community before, but mostly everyone kept to themselves. It’s always been my hope I could grab a cup of sugar or watch my kids grow with good people.

A few weeks in, I posted a picture at the neighborhood park when a follower on my blog page said (in the least creepy way possible) she could see me from her porch. What resulted was coffee and finding out we had too many similarities to count.

Adult friendships are tricky because so much has to align. The kids, the values, the time you have to invest. And then there’s the fact that a lot of women fall victim to competition over community. Throw in some gossip and CLOSED-knit groups vs. CLOSE-knit groups …

by Stephanie Hanrahan Community Girl's Night Out Guest Blogs HeartBeats Inspiration Inspirational Women Inspirational Words Love Love In Action Love in Friendship The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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I’m Doing My Best

They put this baby in my arms and I knew exactly what to do.

Parenting a newborn was perfect for me. Not only was I professionally trained for it as a former Labor & Delivery nurse, I was instinctually good.

As my kids have grown, I’ve lost some of that confidence.

It was easy for me to swaddle and sleep train. It’s not so easy to navigate around a bunch of unknown. And that’s exactly what these little humans are: a big ball of uncertainty. One minute they like a food, the next it’s on your wall. Some days they’re happy, seconds later they’re screaming. Add in some autism and a pandemic, and it’s a whole mess of unpredictability.

I often feel like I’m coming up short with my kids. I yell. I zone out and stare at my phone. I don’t pretend play. There are times I wonder if they would be better …

by Stephanie Hanrahan Guest Blogs Inspiration Inspirational Women Love Love in Family Loving Yourself Motherhood Leave a comment chat
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