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“I’m still learning to love the parts of myself that no one claps for.” —Rudy Francisco
Death comes unexpectedly.”
but what would it feel like to be loved and cherished simply for who you were and not how you performed?
“I guess maybe I want someone to love the parts of me that no one’s cheering for.”
“If you want me to feed your belly, first you let the pastor feed your soul.”
There were homecooked meals and chore charts and board games and horseback rides. There was gardening and cleaning and mending and fixing—and those last two were more about hearts than they were about houses and land.
Kids with trauma needed a safe place that felt like an escape, one where they wouldn’t be surrounded by other people.
But at some point, his life had to stop being about him and his pain. It had to be about helping the people he loved.
It wasn’t passion or even ambition that motivated her. It was an overwhelming desire to be worthy.
And it had worn her out. Earning her worth had exhausted her.
She was accomplished and beautiful, and completely out of his league. She was strong and independent and yet still had this sort of naïve, adorable quality about her.
If love was really unconditional, if it didn’t need to be earned, she could stop striving so hard. She could simply be herself.
He took her face in his hands and kissed her so fully it took her breath away. Every one of her daydreams paled in comparison to the way his kiss made her feel, like maybe she’d finally found the something more she’d been searching for.
“Love and forgiveness aren’t earned. They’re freely given. Like a gift. God created you—not only to be a dancer, but to be His child. He loves you for who you are. No strings attached.”
Maybe now she could finally forgive herself. Maybe she could stop striving, stop trying to prove herself worthy. Maybe she could rest in the fact that God had already accepted her the way she was, whether or not she ever stepped foot on a stage again.
“I mean, look, man, there are no guarantees in life or in love. You know that as well as I do. All we can do is the best we can do. We can give ourselves completely to another person and they can stomp all over us or break our heart or die. But we learn from it and we move on. I mean, what’s the alternative?”
