I have depth. I have a voice. I have a sense of self, and it helps ground me.
I am not unique. Not in that way.
(I mean, I AM unique, but we’ll save that quirky bit for a lighter post.)
Women, we are smart. And beautiful. And worthy.
Worthy of love. Worthy of listeners. Worthy of respect. Worthy of gravity and reason and recognition.
And none of these attributes require an apology or an excuse.
In the past two years, many women have called. Each story different. Some abusive, some just plain miserable. But women call. Maybe they want to compare? To see if their situation is bad enough to warrant that desire to escape? To find out what single motherhood truly, practically, day to day entails? To find out the formula, the set of instructions in surviving divorce?
And the one thread that weaves through every story is the fear. Fear that this time, she is not strong enough. Or good enough. Or smart enough. Or thankful enough. Or Godly enough.
Fear holds women back. To be honest, fear holds humans back so often we at times can’t even recognize it as the barrier. Fear paralyzes, and it tells us we are weak or dangerously vulnerable or selfish. It pins us down and cements our dreams to a place of stagnation.
The first time I walked through the fear, it was terrifying and glorious. I keep doing it, situation after situation. Recently my son proclaimed that I just push through awkward like nothing he’s seen. And what he is truly witnessing is that determination to push through fear. Fear of hurt feelings, broken friendships, embarrassment, failure. Oh, the fear of failure is large and in charge. My three a.m. brain and fear have a deep, strong, relentless relationship. But no matter what the night holds, the beauty always wins, and the dawn keeps coming.
It keeps coming. Fear ain’t got nothing on the dawn.
So women. You are strong. You are worthy.
Keep cutting that thread and know….
You are more than Enough.
Educating Patricia Hatch 