Lyrics

Verse 1
I used to wake beneath the weight
Of everything you left behind
Your absence sat beside me
And followed every thought of mine
I kept asking what I lacked
As though your leaving proved my worth
Then one morning I got tired
Of letting sorrow name my world
I opened every curtain
Let the daylight find my face
And took one honest step
Beyond the memory of your place
Chorus
I made it to the other side of hurt
Where my heart can breathe again
Where your name no longer enters
Every room that I am in
I made it to the other side of hurt
And joy was waiting there
Not the kind that needs forgetting
But the kind that comes from care
I did not lose what I survived
I learned what I deserved
And I found myself still standing
On the other side of hurt
Verse 2
At first, peace felt unfamiliar
I mistook the calm for emptiness
I had lived so long in trouble
That relief made me suspicious
Then I learned a quiet evening
Does not mean that love is gone
Sometimes safety has no warning
Sometimes healing makes no sound
Now I laugh without permission
I make plans without your shadow
And the woman in the mirror
No longer asks where she went wrong
Chorus
I made it to the other side of hurt
Where my heart can breathe again
Where your name no longer enters
Every room that I am in
I made it to the other side of hurt
And joy was waiting there
Not the kind that needs forgetting
But the kind that comes from care
I did not lose what I survived
I learned what I deserved
And I found myself still standing
On the other side of hurt
Bridge — Gospel Responses
Lead: I thought the pain would always own me
Background: But it let her go
Lead: I thought the tears would never end
Background: But she learned to grow
Lead: I thought my heart had closed forever
Background: It was protecting what remained
Now I know that joy can enter
Without asking me to erase the pain
Every scar became instruction
Every loss refined my sight
What nearly took my hope away
Taught me how to choose my life
Final Chorus
I made it to the other side of hurt
With my dignity intact
I can remember what you cost me
Without wishing you came back
I made it to the other side of hurt
And joy knows me by name
I do not fear another morning
I do not live inside that pain
I did not lose what I survived
I became what I had learned
And I found a better woman
On the other side of hurt
Outro — Restrained Ad-libs
I can smile now, baby
And mean it
I can love again
Without leaving myself behind
The pain had its season
But joy
finally had its turn