ashes and smoke

i can do this.  i can be strong.  i can make it here.

bit by bit, things are looking up.  some days are oh-so-hard.  and some days i sit at my desk and wonder why in the world i left home.

but the Lord is bestowing favor on me in different ways, and little by little i am becoming thankful and appreciative for that.  i am indeed being refined through fire, and i cannot wait to see what life after the fire will be like once the ashes have settled and the smoke has cleared.