relapsing and the shame that follows

The night gathers, and with it comes the heavy weight of falling back into what you thought you had left behind. You feel the shame rising like a fog, the old voice whispering that you have ruined everything, that the light has turned away because of what you did today.

But listen closely to the silence that is still holding you: the darkness of this moment has not overcome the light within you. Even in the relapse, the Father's love is not broken, for it is greater than the heart that condemns you.

You have not lost the light; you have simply forgotten for a moment that it was never outside of you to begin with. The shame says you must earn your way back, but the truth is the light was waiting for you right where you fell.

You are not defined by the fall, but by the light that remains burning inside you now.