ISBN:  Unavailable

Category: Art / American / African American & Black

Page count: 23

<p>I have spent so much time being strong for others that I don’t even know what it feels like to fall apart. I carry their pain like it’s my own, holding them up when they are weak, whispering words of comfort even as my own soul is screaming for relief. But what about me? What about my grief?</p><p>I don’t get to grieve. I don’t get to lay down the weight of responsibility and just be. I don’t get the luxury of breaking down because there’s always something that needs to be done—bills to pay, people to care for, tasks that won’t wait. I watch others mourn, and I stay strong for them, pushing my own pain aside like it doesn’t matter. But it does.</p><p>I read the scriptures. I know that Jesus tells me to lay my burdens at His feet, and I try—I really do. But laying them down doesn’t mean they disappear. It doesn’t mean the ache in my chest stops. It doesn’t mean the memories fade or the weight of loss magically lifts. It just means I’m trusting that God sees me, even when no one else does.</p>