USE me!

So the kids and I spent a beautiful and peaceful night sans wifi and great service relaxing in the little cabin circle by a pond.....with two sweet swans swimming about...,..And I felt I was meant to come here. It felt that way from my impulsive decision to book it......I had been looking at the beach for a night and then switched gears, due to some other factors.....and this being on our bucket list for so long......And shortly after I arrived,  another woman and her kids arrived too......both of us a little awkwardly saying hello.....a fellow redhead. And as our kids ran back to the cabins, and we both loaded our stuff on our respective carts, and loaded up our wood we got chatting.....and soon I realized she and I are the same.....she too a single mama, making her way, and attempting to have a nice little trip for she and her kiddos. Also seeking to hike Ricketts Glen.....but both of us sharing similar stories......affairs.....husbands leaving etc.....wanting our kids to have an adventure.....however her wound still so fresh. Tears coming to her eyes.....having camped all over the country with her ex, and now this was her maiden trip for she and her kids. It was also her birthday. She wanted to treat herself. And her heart is still broken. Wishing for a different outcome, finding it hard to believe this is her story.....she decided to take her kids out to dinner for her birthday, passing by asking me if it gets easier. I said it does. She then cried again, and I went and wrapped my arms around her......knowing exactly how she feels....it is all so hard in the beginning. I later learned it was year one of her journey.....still raw. They came back from dinner and she and I talked for quite sometime as all the kids played....she just needed to say the words, and have a person hold them with her. They are such heavy words.....packing such heavy sentiment. She expressed that she felt I was meant to be here and was so glad we had crossed paths. And I am sharing all of this not as a reflection of me, or my willingness to hear her. That is no great feat, but it is in the acknowledgment that I am RIGHT where I am supposed to be......walking the path that was laid for me out of the rubble of my own story...."Here I Am Lord" is my favorite hymn....and it is because I feel it so DEEPLY......USE me for your will......to help others and hold their pain with them......so they don't have to feel so alone in it all......and it was very powerful for me to connect with her- knowing the reason I was nudged to come here......realizing I can hear my yes so much more clearly now.....the places I should go and those I shouldn't....and she may reach out for coaching too, but even if not, I got to be what I needed to be for her in the time we spent.....and we sat at our campfires with our kids, doing the things....smores, fire, laughs, firefly catching, and making memories on the other side of our stories. And it felt really beautiful, in all the ways. It also occurred to me how NORMAL my new life has become. Not feeling alone with my kids adventuring anymore, or feeling like anything is missing, we have arrived at another tier of healing where this IS our life now. No altered version of an old life or variation of a life we should be living, just OUR life. :) Full and beautiful, and real, and our own. Feeling as comfortable as your favorite hoodie or Christmas morning. And well she showed me that gift too, letting me see our lives through a different lens too.....a little further down the road from her. But in a place of our own indeed! So excited for Ricketts Glen and our adventure today! !!:)