This Place.

Dear Azusa,

You taught me things, you taught me people, you taught me life.
I learned about books, and about writing.
I learned about time, and about age.
I learned about people, about laughing, about feeling, about choosing.
I learned about love, about tragedy, about brokenness.
& when I have gone to new places and heights and paths, I hope that I will come back to you and remember the things you taught me.
Like the lesson on life & how short it is and precious the gift is.
Or the time I learned about guarding my heart, or the few hundred times I relearned that lesson.
Or the time I learned that in order to live fully, you have to give fully and risk not receiving what had been poured out, but that even when you do not receive what you are hoping for, that life moves forward and God's hand holds good for the future.
& the times when I feared and worried and ran my head in circles, that you continued to teach me the ways God is faithful and careful with my life and my heart.
This is a place I will never forget & will return to for memories and reminders on how precious and endearing life is & beyond the pain, tragedies, and mishaps, there is a growth and a lesson that puts worth and delight back into it's place. That is what I will seek to remember about this place.

Love, me.


Danielle Nicole.