Sometimes you become so focused on how difficult today feels that you forget just how much you have already survived.
Take a moment and look at how far you have come.
You have lived through things no one should ever have been forced to experience. You survived the fear, the manipulation, the nights when you wondered whether life would ever feel safe again. You kept going through pain that other people may never fully understand.
There were days when simply getting out of bed took courage. There were moments when you had to smile while everything inside you was falling apart. You learned how to survive because survival was the only choice you were given.
But you are still here.
New beginnings can be frightening. Starting over may mean rebuilding your confidence, finding a new home, making difficult decisions or learning who you are without someone controlling your life. Some days, the road ahead may feel uncertain.
But remember this: starting over may be hard, but it is not as hard as what is behind you.
You have already traveled through the darkest part of the road. You have already survived the person who tried to make you believe you could not live without them. You have already proven that you possess more courage than you ever knew.
On a motorcycle—or in any vehicle—the rearview mirror is smaller than the windshield for a reason.
You need the mirror to remember what is behind you. The past can teach you, warn you and remind you of the distance you have traveled. But you were never meant to spend the entire journey staring backward.
The windshield is larger because what is ahead of you matters more.
There are still roads you have not traveled, people you have not met and peaceful mornings you have not experienced. There are still reasons to laugh, dreams to rediscover and parts of yourself waiting to come back to life.
Healing does not mean forgetting what happened. It means what happened no longer gets to decide where you are going.
There may be days when memories catch up with you. There may be moments when you question your strength or wonder whether you made the right decision. When those moments come, look back only long enough to remind yourself:
“I survived that. I am not there anymore. I am still moving forward.”
God did not bring you this far just to leave you standing on the side of the road. The next chapter may not be easy, but it can be yours—written with freedom, dignity, peace and hope.
Keep your hands steady. Keep your eyes ahead. Trust yourself one mile at a time.
The rearview mirror will always be there, but the windshield is where your future lives.
Look how far you have come.
And never forget—your best miles are still ahead.
Dave Beatty
Founder, Riders Against Domestic Violence
We Are the Bridge
www.radv.org