Thankful

Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.

John Milton

Surviving domestic violence can truly change one’s perspective.

For days, months, years, your life might have been relatively normal. You might have had a two-parent family, a job, a place to live, a car. Perhaps life had settled into a routine. You might have felt secure, had a warm sense of achievement, or took pride in what you had built.

Then came the sweet talk, followed by the boundary violations. “Surely it won’t get worse,” you thought. Yet the emotional abuse escalated and then came the objects smashing into the wall as the person you once trusted with your soul hurled them in an expletive-filled rage.

One day, after one too many threats and flailing arms, you grabbed…