New episode of 02/20 5:37 PM

WEBVTT

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Welcome back to Promise Hill Season 1,

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Episode 4,

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The Bluebird.

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Hello,

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I'm Kimberlee Herman,

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your host.

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If you're tuning in for the first time,

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welcome

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We're happy to have you.

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Just FYI,

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since this is an unfolding story,

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you may want to start with Chapter 1.

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In Episode 3,

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Daily Bread,

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Mira met with Charity,

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who gave her some really great advice for visiting her mom.

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In today's episode,

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we watch Mira use that wisdom.

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Along with some mystery twists,

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I'll meet you on the other side of the story with reflections,

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live-it-out action steps,

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and prayer.

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Let's listen in.

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Mira pondered Charity's advice as she drove to see her mother Ruth in the neighboring town of Whispering Pine.

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I will really focus on the gift of this moment.

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rather than fearing what-ifs.

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I can do this.

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When Mira arrived,

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she took a deep breath as she got out of her car to prepare herself.

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Mira knocked gently on the door as she stepped into her mother's room,

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clutching the loaf of cinnamon honey bread from Daily Bread Bakery.

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The scent of lavender and fresh linen filled the air,

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mingling with the soft hum of a distant radio playing an old song.

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Ah,

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that scent brings back memories of my childhood.

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Saturdays filled with laundry on the line and fresh bread cooling on the counter.

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It's so good to see you,

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Mama.

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Ruth turned when she heard Mira,

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a slow smile spreading across her face.

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Her blue eyes danced as she welcomed her daughter.

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You're here,

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Mira.

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Of course,

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Mama.

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I'm glad to see you.

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Mira knelt beside the chair,

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gently squeezing her mother's hand.

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The familiar warmth grounding her,

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Ruth studied her daughter's face with quiet affection.

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You always find your way back to me,

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sweetheart.

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Mira smiled as Charity's words echoed in her heart.

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Focus on the present.

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Embrace the clarity.

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I love you,

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Mama.

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I'm so glad to spend time with you today.

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Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?

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Oh,

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sweet Mira.

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Ruth's gaze drifted out the window again.

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There's always so much to say.

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Mira stood and began straightening the room,

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more out of instinct than necessity.

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As she tidied a stack of books,

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she glanced back at her mother.

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Mama,

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what is one of your favorite memories of me when I was little?

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Ruth's eyes brightened.

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Oh,

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you and Bill.

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Bill?

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The bluebird.

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You saw him once in the backyard and decided he was lonely.

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So you called him Bill and made a trail of Cheerios from the porch straight into the living room.

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I did?

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You did.

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And Bill followed every single Cheerio right through the door.

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Mira covered her face.

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He made it to the coffee table.

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He looked around,

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realized he had made a terrible mistake,

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and started flying in circles.

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Your father dove behind the couch.

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I grabbed a dish towel.

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And you stood there calmly saying,

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Shh,

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he's thinking.

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He finally found his way back out,

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and we never saw Bill again.

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But you kept leaving Cheerios,

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just in case.

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After that performance,

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it sounds like Bill wisely reconsidered the neighborhood.

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That story bonded them in that moment.

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A moment of quiet intention about the past brought joy in the present.

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Mira could see delight dancing in her mother's eyes as she reflected on their shared history.

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What about when I was a baby?

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I don't remember you telling me if I was easy or challenging.

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Ruth's legs paused mid-rock.

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You were beautiful.

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She smiled,

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but something in her eyes flickered and she looked down.

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Mira caught the shift.

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but didn't push.

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Was that a hard time?

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Ruth's lips pressed into a faint line.

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Some seasons are like photographs you only get to look at.

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Mira nodded,

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unsure what that meant and how to respond.

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Her eyes wandered,

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landing on a large,

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black,

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leather-bound book on the dresser.

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It was worn,

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its edges frayed,

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the gold lettering barely visible,

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but looking just like the book she saw at Grandma Eden's.

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Mama,

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what's that?

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She asked,

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pointing.

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Ruth's expression softened.

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That's my Bible.

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I realized it's okay for me to let it sit for all to see,

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now that your dad isn't here.

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Mira blinked.

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caught off guard.

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Your what?

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My Bible,

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dear,

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Ruth repeated as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

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What does dad have to do with your Bible?

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Your dad was a good man,

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but he didn't understand.

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But that is a story for another day.

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Mira walked over to pick it up.

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The leather was smooth,

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yet fragile in her hands,

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like something.

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deeply loved.

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She had never seen her mother read a Bible before,

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never even heard her speak about faith.

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You read this?

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She asked,

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flipping through pages filled with tiny handwritten notes in the margins.

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Yes,

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for most of my adult life.

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I didn't know you were religious.

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I'm not religious,

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honey.

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I have faith.

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Mira stared at her.

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Unsure how to reconcile this version of her mother with the woman she thought she knew.

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Why didn't you ever tell me?

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Some things aren't spoken.

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They're lived.

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Okay.

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Mira wished for more clear days,

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more chances to uncover new information about her parents.

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Mira stopped on a page that seemed to call her attention.

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There were words underlined,

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and Mira felt she should read it out loud.

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Do not fear.

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For I am with you.

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Do not be dismayed,

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for I am your God.

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I will strengthen you and help you.

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I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

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You believe all this?

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I do.

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And whether you realize it or not,

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Mira,

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I've prayed for you your whole life.

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Mira's throat tightened.

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Something inside her shifted.

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Ruth reached out and rested a hand on her arm.

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Mira,

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I want you to have my Bible.

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It's seen me through hard times,

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things only God could handle.

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Mama,

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are you sure?

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I don't want to take something so important.

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I insist.

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In fact,

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it's actually your Bible.

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I've just borrowed it all these years.

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Promise me you'll read it,

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cover to cover.

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Find a good church,

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someone to help you understand it.

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She paused and got that distant look again.

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The one that told Mira her mind was drifting.

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My bluebird.

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Have you seen him?

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Mira gently squeezed her mother's hand.

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No,

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Mama.

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Do you mean Bill the bluebird?

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No.

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My bluebird.

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A few moments later,

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Ruth shifted in her chair again and glanced toward Mira with sudden focus.

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There's something I need from the attic in our old house.

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The old house?

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Mama,

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do you remember we sold that house?

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Yes,

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honey.

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Before we moved,

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I left a box up there in the secret room.

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Secret room?

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Ruth pointed to her desk.

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The directions are in my diary.

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Mira was shocked as she reached for the journal.

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Inside were dates,

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names,

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scribbled stories,

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and,

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surprisingly,

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in the back was a sketch of the attic and a small note about a hidden button.

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You always did think I could do the impossible,

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Mira said,

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more to herself than anyone.

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Mama,

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why didn't I ever know about the secret room?

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There's so much to share with you,

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but first,

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the box.

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She reached out again,

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holding Mira's hand in hers.

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Thank you for doing this.

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One day,

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I hope you'll see yourself the way I do.

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Strong,

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creative,

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and not as lost as you think.

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as long as you have God.

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Mira looked down at the Bible and journal in her hands,

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the pages heavy with promises and untold pieces of her mother's story.

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Mira noticed that the faraway look was clouding her mother's face as Ruth wistfully looked out the window.

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Do you see it?

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My bluebird.

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I know he's coming home.

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Mira kissed her mother's forehead.

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I'll see you soon,

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Mama.

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Mira walked back to her car,

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holding the Bible and journal close to her chest.

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I wonder if maybe there's something in the Bible worth discovering.

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Hmm.

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Was that a Bible I saw at Grandma Eden's too?

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It must be.

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And then the flashback,

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feeling loved in a moment with people she couldn't name,

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a childhood echo she couldn't place.

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I wonder if there really is a secret room.

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with a box that Mama is remembering now.

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If there is,

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what could possibly be in there?

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And could it be related to these flashbacks?

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In her mother's Bible and journal,

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Mira found more than just old pages.

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She found prayers that had been holding her long before she ever knew they were there.

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As Ruth's memories begin to surface and a hidden box calls from the past,

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Mira steps into a journey she didn't expect,

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one that may just lead her back to...

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herself.

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Stay with us for the next episode as we follow Mira in searching for the secret room,

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which may be the beginning of discovering secrets from her past.

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Take it away,

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Kimberlee.

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Let's walk that story home and listen to what's beneath the surface.

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Sometimes what we think is the end of the story is just really the beginning of something new,

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even though it doesn't feel like that in the moment.

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In this quiet exchange between Mira and her mother Ruth,

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a new layer unfolds.

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A legacy hidden not in grand gestures,

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but in quiet faith,

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handwritten margins,

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and a love that's been steady all along.

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What do we do with a past that we only partly understand?

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Maybe we hold it gently.

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Maybe we follow the thread.

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Ruth's Bible becomes more than an object.

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It becomes a bridge.

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between what was and what could be,

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between a mother and her daughter.

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And the bluebird?

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Perhaps it's not just something to be found,

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but something to be remembered,

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longed for,

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searched out,

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and maybe,

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one day,

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understood.

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As Mira traces clues she didn't know she needed,

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Ruth's journal,

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the Bible,

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the secret room,

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and the unseen bluebird,

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something sacred begins to stir.

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The past isn't finished with her.

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just yet.

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Here are three reflections and three live it out action steps.

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Number one,

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the present moment as a sacred discipline.

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Mira used Charity's wisdom to focus on the moment with her mom,

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Ruth.

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She was able to ask about her childhood and laugh in those moments of shared history.

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She walked in courage,

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not in fear,

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as she spent intentional time with her mom.

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Mira learns that

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peace is found not by controlling tomorrow,

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but by fully inhabiting today.

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Hear it and hold it.

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Matthew 6 verse 34.

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Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,

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for tomorrow will worry about itself.

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Each day has enough trouble of its own.

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And Psalm 118 verse 24.

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And this is the day the Lord has made.

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Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

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There have been times in my own life where I have been so stressed over the what-ifs that I have missed that being in the moment of what's happening now.

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What about you?

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I love Cherry's advice to Mira to not worry about tomorrow,

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but be present in the moment.

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Number two,

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faith is lived,

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not just spoken.

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Ruth never spoke to Mira about faith.

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She simply lived it.

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Now,

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I don't recommend that,

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but those were her circumstances,

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and you will find out why in later chapters.

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Ruth reminds us that faith is not just words,

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but a way of life.

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How do our actions reflect God's love to others?

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In other words,

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how do you show others you are a Christ follower without saying you are?

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Hear it and hold it.

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Matthew 5 verse 16.

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In the same way,

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let your light shine before others.

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that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

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I have seen too many Christians wear the badge of honor,

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also known as a cross,

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to let the world know that they are Christians.

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Yet they cuss out the guy who cut them off in traffic or wasn't kind to a waitress.

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This is a good reminder to all of us that Christians are to live out our faith,

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not just tell people that we're Christians.

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It's a huge difference,

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right?

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Number three,

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the Bible as a source of strength.

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Ruth's Bible is worn and filled with notes,

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a symbol of a lifetime of seeking God's wisdom.

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When she gives it to Mira,

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it's more than a book.

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It's an inheritance of faith.

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The Bible guides,

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strengthens,

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and reveals God's truth to those willing to read it.

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Hear it and hold it.

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Philippians 4 verse 1.

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I can do all things through him who gives me strength.

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In Psalm 29 11.

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The Lord gives his people strength.

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The Lord blesses them with peace.

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Always turn to your Bible for strength.

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And I know what you're going to ask.

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Kimberly,

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where do I look?

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How do I know what to read?

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That's a very good question.

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There's lots of books out there that you can look up whatever you're going through,

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and it can show you where to read that scripture in the Bible.

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You can also do a Google search.

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So Google search,

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you know,

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if you're feeling depressed,

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your query could be,

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help me find scripture when I'm depressed.

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or when I'm anxious,

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or when I'm fearful.

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You will find strength in the living word of God.

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All right,

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we're going to move on to our live it out action steps.

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Number one,

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live out your faith in daily actions.

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This is something we discussed earlier.

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Instead of just talking about faith,

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practice it in small ways.

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Show kindness,

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serve others,

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and extend grace.

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Number two,

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start reading the Bible with intentionality.

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Like Ruth's advice to Mira,

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read the Bible and commit to reading a small section each day.

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Or find one of those read the Bible in a year apps.

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Or find a Bible study or a mentor to help guide your understanding.

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Number three,

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lean on God in uncertain times.

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When facing fear or doubt,

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turn to scripture and prayer instead of relying on your own strength.

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If you're anything like me,

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how many times do you...

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turn over a situation in your head over and over and over again,

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trying to find different angles and perspectives and what ifs,

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but we need to all just pause,

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pray,

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ask the Lord for his peace and direction for your guidance.

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All right,

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friend,

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I would love to pray for you.

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Thank you,

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God,

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for the moments that catch us off guard and open our hearts.

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For the quiet ways you show up in a scent,

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a smile,

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and in a shared memory.

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I lift up every listener who is holding both the beauty and the mystery of their past.

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May they be brave enough to hold onto their faith when old memories show up,

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and tender enough to believe there's still something beautiful waiting to be found.

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May your presence meet them in unexpected places,

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00:17:31.777 --> 00:17:32.958
just like it did for Mira.

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And may they come to know deep in their soul that you are with them every step of their journey.

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In Jesus'

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holy name.

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Amen.

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Thank you for hanging out with us on the hill.

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See you in chapter five,

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the secret room.

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Until next time,

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friends,

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may you find peace in the presence and hope on the hilltop.

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This is Kimberlee Herman cheering you on from Promise Hill.