I’ve written before about how I lived most of my life in survival mode. Until recently, I perceived surviving as a negative. I’ve realized that surviving is an art in which a person creates ways to live through life’s worst circumstances.

Survival mode is where we learn what we’re made of. It’s a lonely place with no guaranteed outcomes. It’s where our weaknesses are exposed and our vulnerability is attacked. It’s also where we learn what our strengths are.

There’s nothing negative about surviving the deepest, darkest valleys…because surviving means we lived through them.

We lived through the exhaustion and the sleepless nights and the loneliness and the endless tears and the chaos.

Survivors have a determination that those who have never experienced the valley don’t have. They hold on to hope that there will be better days, and they risk everything to turn those hopes into reality.

It’s the survivors who trudge through the unexpected and unwelcome, only to come out stronger on the other side. It’s survivors who can look back at the valleys and find a reason to be thankful for them. It’s survivors who help others survive.

If you’re in survival mode today, know that it’s okay to be weak and vulnerable. But also be aware of your strengths…your ability to push through. Put one foot in front of the other, and keep taking steps, however small they may be. Crawl if you must, but keep moving forward. Extend an arm and invite someone to hold your hand through the darkness. You’ll eventually reach the end of the shadows in the valley. And you will walk out stronger, wiser and more compassionate.