“We cannot fully heal if we cannot experience gratitude on a daily basis.” — Sharon E. Rainey Daily life Copy Share Image
“I was desperately searching for something to make sense; for the world to connect back with me.” — Sharon E. Rainey Desperately Copy Share Image
“I thought by masking the depression with silence, the feelings might disappear.” — Sharon E. Rainey Depression Copy Share Image
“No one gave me the secret decoder ring on how to make friends.” — Sharon E. Rainey Friendship Copy Share Image
“If you stop drinking, I’ll stop taking Valium, and then we’ll see who’s who and who’s what.” — Sharon E. Rainey Stop drinking Copy Share Image
“Most of all, I remember her laughing. It filled my ears. Her smile, her sparkling eyes, and her infectious laughter, along with… — Sharon E. Rainey Laughter Copy Share Image
“Most teenage suicide attempts are cries for help; the teens survive, succeeding in bringing them the wanted attention. Mine was not a… — Sharon E. Rainey Suicide Copy Share Image
“I’m not ‘different’ from anyone else. Crises and tough emotional periods are the grit around which my inner self has been formed.… — Sharon E. Rainey Different Copy Share Image
“I could accept my circumstances, my life, people, and even events around me, without giving my approval or releasing my control over… — Sharon E. Rainey Accept Copy Share Image
“Through each crisis in my life, with acceptance and hope, in a single defining moment, I finally gained the courage to do… — Sharon E. Rainey Acceptance Copy Share Image
“I believe that time period was a gift of God’s grace. I have no other way to explain why I did not… — Sharon E. Rainey God grace Copy Share Image
“With each opportunity before me, God presented me with a choice. I could accept His offerings, His wisdom, His grace. Or I… — Sharon E. Rainey Choice Copy Share Image
“Deep down inside of me, way down deep, in a place previously unknown; I heard it: a solid, honest, compassionate whisper. It… — Sharon E. Rainey Deep Copy Share Image
“I had to clear up my messy life. By letting go of the debris and filth, I have come to a deeper,… — Sharon E. Rainey Beauty Copy Share Image
“Life is messy. Grit and grace come at us fast, side by side. Sometimes the grit becomes overwhelming and diminishes our spirit.… — Sharon E. Rainey Gone forever Copy Share Image
“I call it an Aha! moment. It is the moment when I can hear, when I know, that an answer is being… — Sharon E. Rainey Aha moment Copy Share Image
“The pain had to be great enough for me to accept my reality, to hope that something different, and hopefully better, was… — Sharon E. Rainey Pain Copy Share Image
“I thought that day was the end of my life. It was the end of the world as I knew and understood… — Sharon E. Rainey End of the world Copy Share Image
“My body craved sunshine; winter felt like an addict’s withdrawal.” — Sharon E. Rainey Sunshine Copy Share Image
“Laughter lightens my heart and therefore heals my soul as well.” — Sharon E. Rainey Healing Copy Share Image
“When I could find something to laugh about for 30 minutes, my grief lightened just enough to make the day bearable.” — Sharon E. Rainey Bearable Copy Share Image
“I knew if I stayed where I was, nothing would get better; nothing would change. If I wanted to ease the pain,… — Sharon E. Rainey Pain Copy Share Image
“Acceptance doesn’t mean that life gets better; it just means that my way of living life on life’s terms improves.” — Sharon E. Rainey Acceptance Copy Share Image
“As we each began our journey, we learned the importance of connecting, of laughing with one another (not at one another), of… — Sharon E. Rainey Life Copy Share Image
“I have learned through repeated experiences that in order to heal, I MUST forgive. The forgiveness is not for the transgressor. The… — Sharon E. Rainey Forgive Copy Share Image
“The routine helped the healing process. It gave me structure. It eliminated any sense of surprise, which at that point, I really… — Sharon E. Rainey Habits Copy Share Image
“Why did I want to die? Because living was just so damn hard, even at age 10. When all I had to… — Sharon E. Rainey Hard Copy Share Image
“With each challenging situation, each nightmare— each new piece of grit embraced and transformed—I came through with a more loving family, deeper… — Sharon E. Rainey Friendship Copy Share Image
“I remember thinking I wanted to die rather than live through another February day of grayness; I didn’t tell anyone because I… — Sharon E. Rainey Remember Thinking Copy Share Image
“This is where life as I knew it changed. This is where a new feeling slowly, eventually, permeated every cell of my… — Sharon E. Rainey Change Copy Share Image
“I did the only thing I knew how to do: I built my own walls of silence to disguise my desperation and… — Sharon E. Rainey Depression Copy Share Image
“I am not proud of this moment. It is not one I share with others often, and rarely have I done so.… — Sharon E. Rainey Moment Copy Share Image
“I am, by God’s design, a “feeler.” Everything in the world I interpret with my feelings. I am hyper-sensitive to others’ hurtful… — Sharon E. Rainey Feelings Copy Share Image
“I wanted to live more than I wanted to die. I didn’t know how to live. I didn’t know how I would… — Sharon E. Rainey Life Copy Share Image
“By first grade, my sense of worth was in direct proportion to what I learned and what I contributed back to the… — Sharon E. Rainey Being Copy Share Image
