Jana Kramer has been taking serious time to reflect on her personal and spiritual growth following her divorce from her ex-husband, former NFL player Mike Caussin.
In a lengthy Instagram post on Wednesday, the actress and singer, 38, opened up about her journey in the last year — and how therapy has helped her heal.
“This week is one year of finding out and being forced to file for divorce,” she wrote in the post. “I honestly can’t believe it’s been a year but damn I’m proud of myself for how far I’ve come and how strong I have been. Wasn’t easy to do but I’m leaving the past in the past and all the feelings that have held me back today. This photo isn’t tears of sadness… it’s tears of joy that I’m here stronger… even though yes at times I feel sad and I have hard days but that’s the joy of healing.”
Kramer went on to explain an exercise her therapist challenged her with, which entailed her writing some of the pain she’s harboring on rocks. Then, she placed those rocks in a bowl. “That’s what you’re carrying,” she said her therapist told her. “Imagine if you let that go.”
“I told her a part of holding onto it felt safe,” Kramer explained. “But that I was ready to let it go.”
Kramer then took those rocks on a hiking trail and let them sail into the water, which she described as a cathartic experience.
“I placed them in this stream. So that the words I wrote would be washed away in time,” she said. “It is not mine to hold onto anymore. It is being washed away. I’ve learned a lot this year. And what I’ve learned the most is that I’m still on the journey of healing and that’s OK.
“I also learned it’s a beautiful thing when you allow yourself to move on, get up and believe that God has a bigger plan for you,” she continued. “The strength inside of me fires my soul each day and I cry tears of happiness to remember just how far I’ve come. And just how strong I am. And that I’m enough. And so are you.”
It certainly has been a challenging year for the mom of two, who filed for divorce from Caussin last year following allegations of infidelity.
“It’s not what I wanted,” the One Tree Hill alum told Extra TV at the time. “It sucks and it’s unfair and it’s not what I dreamt of for my family or my kids. But now I have to figure out… how to be the best mom for my kids.”
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