Category Archives: Love Month

A Pause for Me

Love Month, self love,

Lately, I’ve been pouring into everything but myself. Work, responsibilities, and personal projects have taken up all my energy, and I’ve been running on fumes. Even the things I love can become distractions when I’m not being intentional about my own well-being. Magnolia Tru has been a space I cherish, a promise to myself, but even something as meaningful as this can become a way to avoid sitting with what I really need. Right now, what I need is rest. Not a temporary escape, not a way to procrastinate, but a real pause to reset.

Tax season is here, and my plate is full. It’s not just the workload, it’s the weight of everything else I carry—the mental lists, the personal expectations, the responsibilities I can’t set down. I feel the pressure to keep pushing, to stretch myself a little further, to prove that I can handle it all. But I know myself well enough to recognize when I’m reaching my limit. The truth is, I’ve been operating in survival mode for too long, and I don’t want to keep living like that.

For a long time, I felt like I had to earn my rest. That I had to check every box, complete every task, and prove my worth through how much I could handle before I allowed myself a break. But I’m realizing that’s not sustainable, and it’s not healthy. Rest isn’t a luxury, and it’s not something that should come last. It’s a necessity. It’s how I show up for myself so that I can show up for everything else in my life with clarity and intention. If I don’t take the time to refill my cup, I’ll keep running on empty, and I don’t want to live like that anymore.

I don’t want this break to just be about stepping away from responsibilities. I want it to be about stepping toward myself. Slowing down. Listening. Paying attention to what my body, mind, and spirit actually need instead of ignoring the signs until I have no choice but to crash. So, for the next two weeks, I’m choosing to be still. I’m letting go of the need to constantly produce, to always be available, to feel like I have to keep up. No overloading my schedule, no unnecessary distractions, no guilt. Just rest, clarity, and the space to realign.

This is also my way of honoring Love Month. Not through grand gestures or external validation, but through the simple, necessary act of self-love. Loving myself enough to step back. To say no to burnout and yes to restoration. To remind myself that I don’t have to earn the right to rest—I just have to take it.

“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” — Isaiah 30:15.

I’m holding onto this truth. Strength isn’t found in exhaustion, in always being on, in proving I can handle everything. Strength is found in trust, in quietness, in surrendering the need to do it all. When I return, I want to come back whole, not running on fumes.

Hey sweets, if you’ve been feeling stretched too thin, this is your reminder that you don’t have to wait until you’re completely drained to take a break. You don’t have to push through exhaustion just because that’s what you’re used to. You deserve rest—not when everything is done, not when you feel like you’ve earned it, but simply because you are human, and you need it. Take care of yourself. I’ll be doing the same.

Talk soon,

Tru

Covered, Kept, and Loved

Faith and Resilience, Love Month, , , ,

Hey Sweets,

As you know, I’ve been writing these love letters to honor the ways love has shaped my life. And there’s no way I could do this without writing to the One who loved me first.

God,

There’s no love like Yours. No love more patient, more forgiving, more constant. No love that has held me through every season, every joy, every storm the way Yours has.

And if I’m being honest, there was a time I didn’t believe You were real. Childhood trauma and church hurt succeeded in convincing me otherwise. I questioned You, doubted You, even rejected You. But still, You never let me go.

You carried me through things I thought would destroy me. You covered me when I didn’t even know I needed covering. No weapon formed against me has prospered because You have always been my protector, even when I didn’t acknowledge You. I owe my life to You.

You’ve shown me that love isn’t just a feeling; it’s action. It’s the breath in my lungs each morning. It’s the strength You give me to keep going. It’s the grace You extend when I get it wrong, the peace You provide when my heart is heavy.

Psalm 46:5 says, “God is within her; she will not fall. God will help her at break of day.” There have been so many moments when I felt like I was falling, but You always held me up. And now, I stand knowing that no matter what comes, I am never alone.

You’ve taught me that love isn’t about perfection. It’s about surrender. And as much as I desire love in this life, I know that no love will ever compare to Yours. You are my first love, my foundation, the very reason I know how to love at all.

So today, I just want to say thank You.

Thank You for loving me completely, even when I struggled to love myself. Thank You for every answered prayer and even the ones You denied—because I trust You see what I cannot. Thank You for Your presence, for Your patience, for never letting me go.

Psalm 46:10 reminds me to “Be still and know that You are God.” And that’s what I’m choosing to do. To trust You fully. To walk in faith, not fear. To love You not just in words, but in the way I live, in the way I treat others, in the way I surrender to You every day.

Forever Yours,

Your Child, Dorcaste

Lanmou Merite: A Love Letter to Idoren

Grief and growth, Love Month

Hey Sweets,

Love has a way of outliving us. It keeps moving, keeps showing up, even when we don’t expect it. Today I want to share the first in a series of love letters I’ll be writing to honor God’s love and how it manifests in my life. My hope is that these love letters remind you of the many ways love heals, restores, continues to move and blesses us, even in ways we don’t always see.

My Girl,

I didn’t realize just how much your love was still working until this past weekend.

I was sitting across from a client, someone who’s been with me since my very first year doing taxes. We were talking, and he casually mentioned how happy the people he referred to me were. Earlier that day, with one of his friends, I mentioned that I could not remember how he became my client. And as we were talking, he said it unwarranted, “I believe it was your Matant who sent me to you.” My heart paused when he said it. I had completely forgotten.

As he got ready to ask me how you were doing, it quickly dawned on me that he didn’t know and I had to tell him you were gone. I had to relive that day all over again. But in light of him receiving the news, what he said next was comforting reminder. He said, “If I had to credit anyone for where I am now in life, I would include her.”

He told me how you two met at work, how you became good friends, how you helped him, guided him, and supported him. How meeting you was the catalyst he needed to set up his life in Indiana with his family. Your love, your kindness, your impact stretched far and wide. Your love was and is so powerful that it continues to be a blessing even after your transition.

Since the day you left, I have struggled with the fact that we weren’t in a good space at the time. That’s something I don’t talk about much, but it lingers. The things I wish we’d said. The way I wish we had made things right. It’s a weight I’ve been holding onto, unsure if I’d ever be able to put it down.

But in that conversation, something shifted. My heart was so full. It was a reminder of the way you always made sure I was okay, even in ways I didn’t notice at the time. You set something in motion that’s still blessing me today. I’m thinking you had something to do with him deciding to meet in person instead of virtually. God knew I needed to physically experience this because even though we weren’t in the best place, love was still working. I needed to know that.

You are still looking out for me. Still making sure I am taken care of. Still pouring into me. That conversation reminded me of something I should have never questioned—your love was never conditional. It didn’t fade just because things got complicated. It didn’t stop just because we didn’t get to say everything we needed to.

It was deserved.

And that’s what your name means. Merite.

You loved me in ways I’ll never be able to repay.

You were there for the biggest moments of my life. You held my hand when I brought my second baby girl into the world, keeping me strong. And when she arrived, you didn’t just love her—you raised her and her sister. You cared for them like they were yours. And in doing that, you took care of me too.

You never let me feel alone. No matter what was going on, you showed up. Every single time.

I wish I had told you more often how much I appreciated you. I hope you knew.

I hope you knew that even when we weren’t seeing eye to eye, I still loved you. That even now, I carry so much of you with me.

You taught me what it means to love fully. You showed me how to pour into people, how to leave a mark that lasts long after you’re gone. And Matant, you left a mark on me that time could never erase.

I miss you. I miss your laugh, your strength, your presence. I miss being able to call you, to hear your voice, to feel like you’re just a moment away. But I see now that you’re never really gone.

You’re in my daughter’s laughter.

You’re in your children’s strength.

You’re in the clients who keep coming my way because of you.

You’re in the way I push through, the way I keep going.

You’re in me.

And for that, I’ll always be grateful.

I thank God for you.

I don’t know if I’ll ever stop carrying the weight of what was left unfinished. But I do know this: I’ll carry the love too. I’ll carry it every day, in every choice I make, in every act of kindness I put into the world. Because that’s what you did for me. That’s what you left me with.

And as long as I’m here, that love isn’t going anywhere.

Thank you for everything, Matant. You deserved all the love you gave. And I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure it keeps growing.

Love,

Your Niece

Merite Idoren – Forever in my Heart ♥️