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Love matters

by Raydeane Owens Contributing Writer
| June 8, 2018 2:45 PM

It’s been a tough year in Kootenai County. There has been a devastating loss of life that has shaken many of us. This is written in their honor, and with the thought that the rest of us would take courage. There is always a reason for hope and the most generous thing we can offer someone is love.

A letter to myself

Age 50 was tough. The natural death of a precious friend, the relational death of a long time friend, my best girl suffering two miscarriages, unfair accusations, unrealistic expectations, unjust situations and mysterious illnesses that, after many doctors, was diagnosed as grief and stress.

It’s true: What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. This past year has changed me. I fell deeper in love with the people that surround me, I got a little braver facing mountains and giants, I’m a little more sure of what I believe and who I want to walk with.

What a gift this tumultuous year ended up being. A defining year - a year that tested what’s inside of me to the very core. A year of tearing down and rebuilding, of exchanging my strength for His.

Stepping into 51 with my face set to the heavens. A confidence that beauty and wonder are ahead, a trust that I’m not in control, but the One who is, has got me.

It seems the more I let go, the more I gain. And I’ve discovered the things that remain are the greatest treasures.

“These things will last forever - faith, hope, and love -

and the greatest of these is love.”

1 Cor 13:13

Life can be excruciatingly unfair and painful, please don’t give up on it. Better days are ahead, as surely as we are promised difficult seasons, there is also the promise of seasons of refreshing and joy. Endure the seasons, wait for the promise. You are so valuable. You are loved.