To live is to love. To love is to risk pain. To risk pain is to live. It's what it means to truly be human. As fragile as dust. The breaking of us. The making of us. The building up of our faith.

when you are chosen for suffering, you are chosen for the blessing of displaying the works of God

every great success story has elements of failure.

In the middle of the pain you didn't cause, the change you didn't want, or the reality you didn't know was coming . . . your life can still be beautiful.

wisdom like none other can arise from those hard places that bring us low.

Pain is the sensation that indicates a transformation is needed.

felt stuck with a suffocating sense of wanting to feel better but not knowing how. My brain has such a hard time overriding my heart sometimes. One rejection after another did quite a number on my heart. And each new rejection didn't just add hurt; it multiplied the pain that was already there. That accumulation created a dark feeling of hopeless defeat.

The space between our expectations and our reality is a fertile field, and it's the perfect place to grow a bumper crop of disappointment.

And let's be honest, if we weren't ever disappointed, we'd settle for the shallow pleasures of this world rather than addressing the spiritual desperation of our souls.

Whether we are at the beginning of our journey, in the middle, or in the danger zone of having just reached our weight-loss goals, focusing only on what we're giving up will make us feel constantly deprived. And deprivation leads to desperation, frustration, and failure. Instead, we have to focus on everything we're gaining through this process. And see the gains as more valuable than the losses.

One rejection after another did quite a number on my heart. And each new rejection didn't just add hurt; it multiplied the pain that was already there. That accumulation created a dark feeling of hopeless defeat.

Brokenness is what must happen before God can put the pieces back together in the way He can shine through the best.