an opportunity to share.

i've been an avid reader of CJane's blog for years, and have grown to admire her so much through the beauty of her vulnerable and real writing.

a couple of months ago, she wrote about an experience she and her husband had one night while visiting a home that housed severely abused teenagers.  after her post, she asked a question about boundaries--what they looked like to her readers, and why they felt they were important.

normally i'm too shy to actually comment, but when this subject came up, i couldn't help myself.  when ben and i worked at the group home in north carolina, learning how to set and implement boundaries was a year-long struggle, but one that i realized brought me down a path of learning that changed my life significantly.  

through my comment, she asked if i would be willing to write a guest post for her about what i have learned.  i'm not going to even try to hide it, i almost wet my pants on the spot. i was extremely nervous--not only because this was a request from someone i admired from afar, but because i wasn't sure i could put into words what i learned through our experience. 

i had to work really hard to silence the insecurities that started popping up internally all over the place.

i started writing.  

the process of writing it down was unexpected; one that provided a reminder of how far a journey i have been on, and how much i have changed.  there has been a lot of pain and tears along the way, but one that has undoubtedly brought about a much more rewarding feeling of peace.

if you're interested in reading it, here's the link for the guest post:

Picking Up The Pieces 

{A Story About Boundaries and Love}

a huge thank you to Cjane for being willing to read my story and post it for her readers!!

and an even BIGGER thank you to the small support group i had while writing....

i know i was a semi-nutjob there for a couple of weeks.
i hope you know how much i love you & appreciate you.  so, so much.
{ben, lauren, andrea, rachel & clancy}

if you want to read more about learning while at the group home,

here's another post i wrote a couple of years ago.

giving it all to those who deserve it, and only pieces to those who don't.