Some days, we fought alone. Other days, we held each other together like sutures over open wounds.– Treasurable Life

This is the frontline.

Let’s talk about it. Not in hashtags. Not in headlines.
Let’s talk about the raw truth behind these images the kind that doesn’t need applause but damn sure deserves it.

The first painting?
That’s the silence of service.
A man, a mask, a moment of breath before entering the unknown.
He’s standing in front of a door that reads “Caution: Covid Positive.”
But what it really says is: “Here lies trauma. Here lies fear. Enter anyway.”

He suits up not for glory, but because real, human life is on the other side of that door.

And I get it.

Because I am too… a nurse.

I’ve worn that gown. I’ve tied those gloves.
I’ve held hands of patients who couldn’t have family near.
I’ve prayed under my breath while pretending to be unshakeable.
I’ve cried in breakrooms no one sees.
So this isn’t just a painting. This is a mirror.

And then there’s this:

This? This is the other side of the fight.
Two sisters in arms, Becki and Nikki, suited up in courage, covered in care, holding each other up like battle-worn soldiers mid-shift.
The PPE can’t mask the bond between them.
This is the kind of love that forms in the fire.
This is what it looks like when warriors don’t walk alone.

I’ve been her too.
The one who finds her strength in the one next to her.
The one who gives a tired smile behind foggy goggles and says,
“Girl, we got this.”

Two names handwritten across their gowns like a love note to survival.
They are elbow to elbow, heart to heart, in a storm that demanded too much.
But they show us what the first image didn’t: they were never truly alone.

This is sisterhood under strain.
This is sweat and sorrow and laughter squeezed into five-minute water breaks and midnight hallway cries.
This is what frontline healing looked like a mess of tubing and trauma, but also… connection. Trust. Love.

Sutures Over Wounds

The mask hides the tremble,
The gloves shield the ache.
But the eyes, oh the eyes
They tell us what we take.

Becki to Nikki,
And Nikki to Beck
The love in the trenches
That held the line back.

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.— Galatians 6:2

And if you’re wondering why this matters?
Because when we write history books, we better not skip the ones who healed when the world broke.
And when we say “Thank you,” we better mean it from our guts, not from behind a screen.

Let’s remember this:
Heroes don’t always roar.
Sometimes, they just suit up, link arms, and survive.

Until next time… honor the quiet ones, lift up the worn ones, and love the ones who loved us through the darkest nights.