Simple: God is the only thing in our lives that is absolute. So, if God brings you to a situation, surly he’ll bring you through it. He never ensures that it will be easy, actually, just the opposite. But it is a GIFT. It took me a long time to understand or even accept this, but beauty and strength often come from suffering.

2 Timothy 1:8-9 states: “We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to His holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all His idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now.”

God knows the plans He has for us! He has prepped and prepared us for what we face along the way. I am just learning this. And by learning this, I can now understand that when I am faced with a situation that feels awful and hopeless, that God knew it was coming, and built me to be brave enough to thrive amid the adversity.

How cool is that!?

For a LONG time, I knew I wanted to write. Sometimes, I’m still not sure if it’s what I am “supposed” to be doing, but what I do know is: writing feels good. It helps me share my story. With you. With me. With anyone who needs it.

In her book, Annie F. Downs says: “we have to be brave–so that others will be inspired to be brave along with us.”

God MADE us to be brave. We were meant for it.

We have holy work, and maybe for now, this is mine. Sharing my story and my journey to brave.

So, Why be brave? I’ll leave it how Downs did: “Because when were brave enough to to share the God stories in our lives, it changes the people around us. It changes us to share them.”

So, be brave. Be the change.