I have sat down to write this post more than a dozen times and each time I’ve struggled.  I keep trying to come up with an eloquent way to start, but it’s just not working, so I think I’ll just start at the very beginning.  In the fall of 2011, I was chatting with some bloggers and through conversation it was shared that some believe the reason certain blogs, including my own, gained success was because we share about a tragedy.  Even typing that sentence boils my blood.  The moment the words were spoken my breath stopped and my mind started swirling with a thousand thoughts.  Tragedy?  Do people think my life is a tragedy?  Is that how I’m defined?  Is that who people think I am?  Success blogging?  What does that even mean?  What if someone thinks I share about loosing Samuel because i’m trying to gain something?  That last thought…that’s the one that ruined me.  It hurt my soul and stole my voice.  I’ve tried to gain control over those hurtful thoughts, but haven’t succeeded.  I even considered giving up this creative & therapeutic outlet.  I don’t want to live like that anymore.  I want to feel free to share what I want to.  I want to reclaim the voice that God put inside me.  

-I write about my journey through loss because I know what it feels like to search for just one mother that survived the loss of her child.  I want to be that one mother for someone else.

-The only thing I gain by sharing about my journey is calm in my heart.

-I think a successful blog is one that shares authentically, regardless of the topic.  Period.

-I choose to write on my blog about my life, the life that God made lovely, to glorify Him.

-My life isn’t defined by the loss of my son.

Neither is my blog.