Bringing Hope into View

Everyone has a story to tell. No matter where you come from, you have unique experiences—experiences that are powerful and hold lessons for us all. Wether it is through spoken or written word, your story deserves to be told. Liv Nortillo is a talented poet who is passionate about not only sharing her own story, but also empowering others to do the same.

We asked Liv to share some of her story with us, and this is a bit of it:

Share your story.
If not to see the ache
leave your house heart
with nothing in its pockets but fury at the fact
that you fought it for its claim to your living space,
and won,
then share it anyway.

Share it so that others can see that
you have lived
with this ache as your roommate,
and not voluntarily,
but that you have not been bullied
into moving out of your own body,
have still not been defeated,
and won’t be, ever,
because you know
that this ache’s lease in your life has an end to it
because Jesus has written it to be so
in the terms or agreement,

and in this life He said
you would have troubles,
but that they would not trample you
into nothingness,
they would not knead you
into knots too tangled up to get free,
that these trials would not
negate the triumph God has already won for you
on your behalf,
that you battle with weapons
that are not of this world
but are forged by the fire of the Holy Spirit himself.

So tell your story.
Tell it so that others can know
that you might be fighting a battle right now,
but that your war,
your war is over.

And theirs can be too.

Let what God’s done in your life be a light to others still waiting in the dark.

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Liv Nortillo is a “senior on sabbatical” at Baylor University from Chicago-land, Illinois. She is studying Social Work and Religion and is a Jesus-loving, loud-singing, truth-speaking, coffee-drinking adventurer who is passionate about empowering people to be their best selves and tell their stories. When she’s not working as a barista at Common Grounds, Liv dedicates her time to Ivory Lion Poetry. You can follow Ivory Lion Poetry on Instagram (@ivorylionpoetry), where Liv posts regularly and welcomes outside submissions that will be credited to the author in the Instagram post.

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