Dear God...

September 22, 2022 marks the first day of fall. I have a request, if I may?

You know that September through December are my favorite months of the year. I love seeing the changes happen all around me. The smell of cinnamon engulfing the stores and the joy of people happy about spending time with those who matter most. DECKING THE HALLS!

But you also know that this is the time where I face my deepest depression, where I feel the loneliest. So, my request is that this year, instead of me taking care of others.... and making sure that everyone else is okay. That someone takes care of me. Even if it's just me and you. Show me how to get through this season with God's love on my side. Show me how to be tender with myself during this time. This time last year you were still pruning me. Changing me. Shaping me. This season, however, you have filled in the gaps of my brokenness. I won't ask you for the best Fall/Winter EVER but I am asking that this holiday season is filled with peace in my heart, warmth of the hearth and love shown to me. Show me how to prioritize that this fall. God, whoever reads this, no matter what season (personal or physical) that they are in. I want them to know that you see them and hear them, too. That they are never alone when they're riding passenger with you. That it's okay! I'm still fighting this thing out, too. I pray that we are still able to function in our seasons of sorrow, depression, grief, or anything else. This season is different because we have invited you to join us. That we will maintain and keep building the things that we have started in previous seasons with tenderness and an abundance of grace for ourselves and others. We don't overcompensate for what we don't have to give. We will do more than survive the season! We will be encouraged and loved in it too!

Ya Girl,

Troy XOXO