Season 1, episode 5: The Bluebird

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Welcome back to Promise Hill.

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You're listening to

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Season 1,

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Episode 5,

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The Bluebird.

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I'm Kimberlee Herman,

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your host.

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There are conversations we tuck away for another time,

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words wrapped in silence waiting for the right moment to unfold.

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And then sometimes...

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The moment finds us.

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In this quiet corner of Promise Hill,

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something stirs in the space between memory and presence.

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A tender visit,

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a daughter,

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a mother,

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and the kind of words that only surface when the heart knows it's time.

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Let's walk in gently.

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Mira knocked gently and stepped into her mother's room,

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clutching the still warm 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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It was the kind of scent that brought back fragments of childhood.

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

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Mira found her mom Ruth,

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sitting in her rocking chair by the open window,

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gazing out at the fading afternoon light.

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Her light grey hair was cut short to frame her sweet face,

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and there was something...

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Soft and still about her,

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in that moment,

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as if she was somewhere far away.

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Ruth turned when she heard Mira's footsteps,

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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 came?

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Yes,

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I'm glad you called,

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Mama.

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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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Mira smiled,

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though it trembled slightly.

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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 face lit up with a quiet chuckle.

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Oh,

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child,

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you had the most dramatic flair.

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One day you marched into the living room with a towel wrapped around your shoulders and declared yourself queen of all the sofas.

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She smiled fondly.

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You ordered your father to bring you juice in a goblet,

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not a cup.

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Funny you had a toy one that your dad used.

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Oh boy,

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that sure does sound like me.

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You were always creating kingdoms and stories,

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Ruth said,

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her voice almost wistful.

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It's like you were born with a little world in your head.

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This story bonded them in that moment.

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

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Mira could see delight dancing in her mother's eyes as she reflected over 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 fingers 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 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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Something about it felt important.

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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 is not 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,

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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 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,

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handwritten notes in the margins.

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For most of my life,

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Ruth said simply,

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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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Ruth said with a soft chuckle.

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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 sighed,

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wishing for more clear days,

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more chances to uncover more information about her parents.

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Mira stopped.

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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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Ruth answered with quiet certainty.

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And whether you realize it or not,

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Mira,

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I've-

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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 has 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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Promise me you'll read it,

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cover to cover.

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Start with Matthew in the New Testament.

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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 blue bird.

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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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but I'll keep looking.

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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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Ruth nodded.

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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 nodded again,

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pointing 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 and carefully laid on the desk.

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Inside were dates,

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scribbled stories,

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and,

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surprisingly,

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a hand-drawn map.

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At the back,

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there 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 much to share with you,

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Ruth said with a soft smile.

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

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Strong,

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searching,

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and not as lost as you think.

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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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Do you see it?

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My bluebird,

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I know he's coming home.

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Her eyes bright.

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Mira kissed her mother's forehead.

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Not yet,

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Mama,

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but I'll look for it.

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She walked to her car,

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holding the Bible and journal close to her chest.

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For the first time,

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she wondered if maybe there was something in the Bible worth discovering.

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Her thoughts drifted back to the big black book she saw at Grandma Eden's house.

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Was that a Bible,

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too?

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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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Some stories begin with words,

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but others,

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like this one,

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begin with the silence between them.

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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,

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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 herself.

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Stay with us for the next episode as we follow Mira deeper into Promise Hill,

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where faith lives in the spaces between the spoken.

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Take it away,

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Kimberlee.

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Sometimes what we think is the end of the story is really just the beginning of understanding.

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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

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that's been steady all along.

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What do we do with a past 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 between what was and what could be,

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between silence and story,

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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 seen,

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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 one day understood.

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As Mira traces these quiet clues,

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Ruth's journal,

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the Bible,

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the attic,

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the unseen bluebird,

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something sacred begins to stir.

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The past isn't finished with her yet.

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I have five reflections for you today.

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The first one,

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the power of a parent's prayer.

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Ruth's quiet,

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steadfast,

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faith reveals that she's been praying for Mira her whole life,

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even when Mira didn't realize it.

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She was covered in prayer.

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This reflects how a parent's prayer shapes and sustains their children,

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even when they wander or doubt.

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Do you pray over your kids?

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If you don't have kids,

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your siblings,

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nieces,

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nephews,

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hear it and hold it.

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The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective from James 5 16.

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2.

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Faith is lived,

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not just spoken.

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Ruth never preached to Mira about faith.

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She simply lived it.

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This 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're a Christ follower without saying you are?

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Hear it and hold it,

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Matthew 5,

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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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Number three,

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God's presence in our fear and uncertainty.

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Mira is beginning to wrestle with the idea that faith could be real for her.

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Her mother's certainty in God's promises challenges her doubts.

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The following verse reassures us that even when we don't understand,

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God is present,

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guiding us through life's uncertainties.

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Isaiah 41 10.

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So 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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Number four,

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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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Psalm 119,

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verse 105.

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Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

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Last one,

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number five.

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God's plans unfold in mysterious ways.

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Ruth's request for the box in the attic hints at something unfinished from the past.

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Just as Mira is searching for clarity,

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God is already weaving a bigger plan.

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Sometimes,

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uncovering the past helps us step into God's future for us.

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Jeremiah 29,

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11.

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For I know the plans I have for you,

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declares the Lord,

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plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

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plans to give you hope and a future.

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And I have four live it out action steps for you today.

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Number one,

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begin a prayer journal.

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Just as Ruth prayed for Mira without her knowing,

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commit to praying for someone in your life.

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Write their name in a journal and pray for them daily,

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trusting that God is at work,

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even when you don't see immediate results.

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Number two,

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live out your faith in daily actions.

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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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Identify one way you can reflect God's love today,

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perhaps through encouragement,

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patience,

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or an act of generosity.

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Number three,

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Start reading the Bible intentionally.

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Like Ruth's advice to Mira,

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begin with the book of Matthew 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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Find a Bible study group or a mentor to help your understanding.

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And as you know,

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you can find about just about anything online these days.

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Number four,

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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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And memorize Isaiah 41 10 and repeat it when you feel anxious,

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trusting that God is with you.

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All right,

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let me close this out in prayer today.

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Father in heaven,

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thank you 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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a Bible,

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or a mother's memory.

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We pray for every listener who is holding both the beauty and the mystery of their past.

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May they be brave enough to return to the rooms they've left behind,

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curious enough to open old books,

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

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Let what's been hidden come into the light.

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Let what's been buried grow into something strong and rooted.

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May your presence meet them in unexpected places,

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just like it did for Mira.

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And may they come to know deep in their soul that they've been prayed for too.

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In Jesus'

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name we pray.

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Amen.

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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.