It’s been a while

I haven’t sat down in quite some time just to write.

Well, I guess that’s not fully true. I have sat down many times to write. I’ve typed and deleted and typed more and deleted more. Nothing quite sounding right.

But I’ve been feeling something inside of me lately. Something that I want to put out in the world.

I’m not exactly sure what it is. I’ve been through a lot the past few months. Things maybe I’ll share eventually But it’s been a time of questions and doubts and confusions. It’s in these moments though — moments of complete and utter chaos — that seem to hold the most valuable lessons.

I’ve probably said this before but I firmly believe life is a series of ups and downs for a very good reason. If we were always up, we would never experience struggle and therefore would never fully appreciate when things are good.

Of course we all wish we could live in blissful happiness for our whole lives. But think about it — if we never faced challenges or hardships, how would we even know what the “good” was? I think the whole purpose of struggle is to teach us what in life should be cherished and treasured.

When I think through my successes in life, I am proud of myself for accomplishing the things I  have, but I do not necessarily look at those accomplishments as huge moments of growth. Sure, you learn what it’s like to be successful by reaching a goal. You experience a rush of adrenaline for a few moments when you finally accomplish something you’ve been working toward. You ride that high and feed off of your own energy.

But — it is the process of reaching for that goal that actually teaches you the lessons. It’s the challenges you face along the way that force you to mold and grow. It’s being forced to learn persistence and perseverance that shapes you into the person you have now become.

Now as someone who treasures true happiness in life above all else, I understand the importance that being “up” holds in our lives. If we never feel that happiness, we have nothing to strive for. If we never know success, we have nothing to work toward. We’d never want to become better if we didn’t know that was a possibility.

Thus we have this delicate balance of ups and downs. One cannot exist without the other.

So I write this for anyone that is in a season of trial right now. Know this — you are meant to be there, you are meant to face this, but you are also meant to overcome it. Because on the other side you’ll find a lesson, that serves as another piece to the human puzzle you’ve been building. Don’t give up on you.