“…You’re allowed to put yourself first if you’re settling
and you’re allowed to walk away 
when you’ve tried over and over again but nothing has changed.
You’re allowed to let toxic friends go,

you’re allowed to surround yourself with love,
and people who encourage and nurture you.

…We sometimes look at leaving as a bad thing or associate it with giving up or quitting,
but sometimes leaving is the best thing you can do for yourself.” – Rania Naim

Leaving doesn’t always mean quitting.
It can be an act of total surrender to God’s timeline.
Walking away is not always giving up.
It can also mean standing still and letting God move.

Here I found love. I formed friendships. I gained family.
It felt like 40 years of wandering but in the desert God met me.

Even if no footprints remain in the sand I leave behind,
I move forward remembering the good of the land.
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
Whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable,
I think about such things.