Created by Rachel Maria Kisellus

She slammed the door in my face while I was extending a branch.

And that told me everything I needed to know.

Once, that would’ve broken me.

I would’ve spiraled into self-doubt, shame, confusion ~ wondering what I did wrong.

But not this time.

This time, I stayed rooted.

This time, I recognized the pattern ~ but didn’t step into it.

This time, I understood that my compassion was not weakness.

It was clarity.

I had offered peace.

She chose silence.

I had opened the window.

She painted it shut.

And still ~ something good grew out of it.

Because now, when something bad happens, I don’t collapse.

I remember her. Not with bitterness, but with truth.

She didn’t just make me feel unsafe.

She crushed me again ~ so I could become a wildflower.