Strength, Healing, and the Love I’m Waiting For

God has blessed me with something precious—the ability to heal quickly, in body and in spirit.

In January, I had a nipple-sparing mastectomy with reconstruction, and expanders were placed. Seven months later, this past Tuesday, the expanders were removed, additional reconstruction was done to give me the symmetry and natural look I wanted, and my implants were placed.

I hadn’t planned to return to work two days later, but when a last-minute need came up, I made a choice. I skipped my pain medication so I could drive, and I went in. Not because I felt obligated to prove anything, but because I knew I could. And in that moment, I felt a deep gratitude for my body’s resilience and my mind’s determination.

That same resilience has carried me through other healing—quieter, slower, more complicated. The kind of healing that comes when someone you thought was your forever chooses to leave. I once believed in a man who, in truth, could not give me the love I needed. He left, pretended to return, left again. And while I once thought my heart was broken, I now understand something: maybe I haven’t yet experienced true heartbreak—because that kind of pain belongs only to a love that was real and mutual.

And that love is still ahead of me.

One day, the right man will come. He will love me openly and fully, delighting in life with me, never letting me doubt his heart. He will see my heart as precious and guard it as such. He will stand on his own, make his own choices, and come to me freely—not because life nudged him, but because his soul knows I’m where he belongs.

When that man arrives, he will have the chance to prove he is worthy of my love. And if he is, he will find himself with the rarest of treasures—a woman who will love him beyond his wildest dreams, who will embrace his children and grandchildren as her own, and who will walk beside him in joy, in laughter, and in every season of life.

Together, we will surround ourselves with those who celebrate our happiness. And for those who cannot, our story will simply move forward without them.

Until then, I will keep choosing love. I will walk with joy in my heart, dignity in my steps, and faith in my future—because I know the right man will never let me go.

Honey note:

Life has a way of making us strong in places we never wanted to be tested. But that strength is not just for surviving—it’s for loving well when the right one comes along. I don’t need someone to rescue me. I need someone to dance with me in the light, to play with me in the rain, and to hold my heart like the rare and fragile jewel it is. Until then, I will keep my heart open and my joy intact—because my love story isn’t over. It’s just waiting for the right leading man.

Waiting in grace for the love that will never let me go,

MaryNell ✨ (aka 🍯 Honey)