My biggest mistake was not cruelty.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRskkz5VjTI
It was not anger.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxpq0TQjNM
It was not closing doors too soon.
My biggest mistake was a heart too open,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XVQLxd0ym
a heart too soft,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqjflJBtmr
a heart too eager to forgive.
I let myself be used.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrAuOngk86
I let myself be manipulated.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkjbQkvfg9
I let myself be loved with scraps60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkAKHQnfJ5c
and still I bowed my head in gratitude.
They handed me crumbs60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHSgElZY9a
and I built a feast.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjDZRvS7XD
They handed me silence60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUL5p0y4pZL
and I composed lullabies.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZYA8wdiHB
They handed me absence60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6w1LYtWxk
and I called it presence.
That is what a forgiving heart does—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx04zh7vfGy
it turns emptiness into something that looks like love,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjFf0ATdn7
even when it starves you from the inside.
I wore my forgiveness like a crown.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN727kEmDdW
But a crown of thorns still bleeds.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VS5SDaAjs
And I bled quietly.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGXK3W6Uhi
I bled beautifully.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmFYAoGmXc
I bled in a way that looked like loyalty60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEasj8fBiqy
but was really surrender.
The bare minimum is a dangerous thing.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfo6s66K1t
It is a half-light that blinds you.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBnTgDQJOsA
It is a half-truth that convinces you it is whole.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48YYnuRDmd
It is a cup of water that keeps you thirsty,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJmpdOgHje
but thirsty enough to keep drinking.
They loved me when it was easy.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8Dvablz8w
They loved me when it was convenient.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3VddWLbGM
They loved me just enough60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9YuUB4yvC
to keep me waiting for more.
And I stayed.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DcqauSclE
Oh, how I stayed.
I stayed like a lighthouse,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxp8ddFX6xi
burning every night60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8mxo1axOa
for ships that never docked.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNJOd3sM4w
I stayed like a garden,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfceoJy1flP
pouring rain over soil60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTMeVKETW8
where no seeds were planted.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyuPz62vvB
I stayed like a prayer,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4lrNqfLej
whispered into empty rooms60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuN2mMLDzHI
that only echoed back my own voice.
Because my heart is forgiving.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJo79HtgyUV
Too forgiving.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJffSvegLkh
So forgiving it forgot itself.
I believed their excuses.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWKfxLbBTg
I swallowed their half-promises.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTe6mdxtlm
I wore their lies like jewelry60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWY1PRy6yU
and called them gifts.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrbwhAyFNY
I let their silence become my language.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv3twWa18lr
I let their absence become my home.
And still, I said it was love.
But love is not manipulation.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdH9PS8ahzK
Love is not convenience.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOIPdpf0u0
Love is not a bare minimum you dress up as gold.
Love is effort.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RWqYcS0Fd
Love is presence.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ySmT7cF61
Love is showing up even when it is hard,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuL3nfvgVRM
especially when it is hard.
My mistake was thinking60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaFPbyCARh
that if I just forgave enough,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfA6GcX9v5U
they would learn how to love.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkewTat8bPp
That if I just gave enough,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXeFgYjWmw
they would remember how to give.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbIkkS8LZG
That if I just endured enough,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUI5gbfUbk7
they would finally see me.
But love is not a classroom.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMAAsVs2AD6
Pain is not a lesson plan.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3N3dOaa2Xr
And I was not their teacher.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsnFMWon84
I was their sacrifice.
Yet even mistakes carry mirrors.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOp3XO16T4m
And when the mirror cracked,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCchw45uA2V
I saw myself clearly.
I saw the hollowness I had ignored.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh3XgbtfWZk
I saw the hunger I had silenced.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjFOtXr14j
I saw the beauty of a heart60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHw1OjwJwf
that could forgive endlessly,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUeocZgtaxx
but also the tragedy of a heart60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGk2bj8UZV9
that mistook forgiveness for worth.
So yes, I was used.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYpZwBYhd4
Yes, I was manipulated.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZ6PuJOWvu
Yes, I accepted the bare minimum60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswCk6sHtxT
and called it devotion.
But I will not stay there.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡePRq4V5PFZ
I will not keep bowing to empty altars.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNWbJ7ljwm
I will not keep mistaking ashes for fire.
I am learning.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡquwuzwzABW
I am learning that forgiveness does not mean staying.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJfzrwdCJ0
I am learning that kindness does not mean erasure.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7jhJBa5sJ
I am learning that love should not leave you starving60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrSI5km75z
while you serve a feast.
So my greatest mistake60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXm8nrd5EeP
was allowing the bare minimum60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUEq5VsyEjv
to wear the mask of love.
But my greatest triumph60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkQJhxaLW66
is that I finally took off the mask.
Now I carry my heart differently.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgompDwdOa
Not as an offering for those who only take,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2RodR4tMf
but as a treasure for those who know how to keep it.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3N2clHxRn2
I carry my heart as a flame60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWTb5YcpBx
that does not burn itself out60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWjpR61qSZ
just to prove it is warm.
Because I know now60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvAARrIFFk
that my love was never the mistake.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlmSV9bd6n
My mistake was giving it to those60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1UIkWyFnr
who never deserved to hold it.
And that mistake60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NoeNyVRC3
that wound, that lesson, that mirror60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxgx77ftAJ
has become my awakening.
and then Add to home screen.