stirring you toward hope as you navigate the unexpected
Whether you too are fighting a rare disease or are dealing with some other form of hardship, we can use small wins to offer hope, to tide us over, and to build our confidence that God is at work.
When nothing seems to change in the big picture, it’s easy to get discouraged. But when we notice the small ways God is at work, it can build our trust in Him and our belief that He will guide us through what is ahead.
On the verge of quitting something good, the practice of reflection saved me. The strength to press on grows within us as we reflect on where we have been and what we have made it through.
Reflection allows us to count the fruit of the weeks, months, and years past. If you are struggling to keep going, don’t forget to remember just how far you have come.
God worked behind the scenes to help me break free from lies I have believed for a lifetime. It all led up to the day I realized: leaving my job allowed me to step away from who I believed I was and move toward who I was made to be.
By showing me the gifts He gave me to steward, God worked in unexpected ways; He might be doing the same for you.
Something I know to be true: letting fear and worry take control is never helpful. But I still struggle with them both regularly.
Experiencing these emotions is a pretty normal part of life – especially during periods of uncertainty and those times you just don’t have all the information at your fingertips.
Eventually, I decided to make a list. A list of the practices I’ve found that help me to quiet the fear and worry threatening to take hold of my day.
Surrender. Relinquishing control. It sounds powerless, like a weakness.
But I’ve experienced the exact opposite. Through surrender, I believe we are given more life, more freedom, more hope.
For over a year now, I have strapped myself into two braces–one for my knee and one for my ankle–on a daily basis. Three times per brace, per day. When done perfectly, it takes 4.5 hours. It’s a major chunk of my day.
I never imagined these braces would still be part of my life at this point. But here we are.
And this is what I know now: growth comes from unexpected places.