Life is A Beautiful Struggle

1. I can tell you a lot about her. She’s someone with a huge heart. She will bend over backwards and fold herself in half helping out someone if she can do anything. Her loyalty to the ones that mean something to her is unheard of nowadays. She smiles like she’s never been hurt, and if you didn’t know her, you wouldn’t ever imagine her to ever be hurt. But it happens, a lot more than anyone realizes. She’s really fragile, and it takes very little for her to be hurt, as she takes everything to heart. I’m not surprised though if you don’t know a lot though, because she’s really cautious and her letting someone close to her is a rare thing to happen. There are demons inside her that she’s constantly in a fight with. And she’s a lot worse to herself than anything that could be said to her. Her past is not one of her favorite subjects. She wouldn’t expect anyone to notice her or to listen to the things she has to say that aren’t necessary to be said. But I’m telling you, she’s so worth it all, she’s nothing you’d ever expect, and you’ll feel alive in a way that you’ve never have with her in your life.

        

2. Do you remember when we went to bed early on Christmas Eve, the day before Easter, and any night that we lost a tooth? We had to, or else we wouldn’t get presents, or the chocolate eggs, or that quarter. Remember running around in your witch costume, collecting candy from complete strangers, no matter how cold it was? Don’t forget the days of orderly lines onto the school bus, and waking up extra early for Saturday morning cartoons. What happened exactly? And when did I miss it happening? Now, we are walking in the door at 2 am on Christmas morning, being the Easter bunny, and only losing teeth if we did something stupid. We’re too old to trick-or-treat. We’re lucky if we even catch the bus and they don’t even play cartoons on Saturday mornings anymore. Maybe it’s our society, maybe it’s in our biological makeup, or maybe it’s the human desire to fit in. We left our childhood behind without even giving it a second thought, and now 95% of us would give anything to go back to it.

 

3. God wants so much more foryour life than “fine.”

           

4. Life is a journey, not so much a destination, but a transformation. Looking back, doesn’t it sometimes feel like our richest times come right in the midst of our hardest? But God made us to live in community, to laugh and cry, to hurt and to celebrate with each other, no matter what we’re going through. And transformation is tough, and we don’t always end up where we think we will. But we have to remember, that even when we struggle to believe in Him, He always believes in us. He fills our life with purpose and passion, if we just let Him. And the best part of the journey, is that the God of the Universe, sometimes allows us to play a part in changing the world. Isn’t that a trip?

      

5. Listen, God is not some little genie or a vending machine and is not just worth it because he makes your life all better, but He’s with you. 

         

6. If you ask me, there’s a moment in everybody’s life when you’re helpless, just helpless with hope and trust. And then something happens, something too big to understand and then everything changes forever.

           

7. Look at us, running around. Always rushed, always late. I guess that’s why they call it the human race. What we crave most in this world is connection. For some people, that happens at first sight. It’s when you know, you know. It’s fate working its magic. And that’s great for them. They get to live in a pop song. Ride the express train. But that’s not the way it really works. For the rest of us, it’s a bit less romantic. It’s complicated, it’s messy. It’s about horrible timing and fumbled opportunities. And not being able to say what you need to say when you need to say it. At least, that’s the way it was for me. But sometimes, it slows down just enough for all the pieces to fall into place. Fate works its magic. And you’re connected.

      

8. Each day is a treasure box of gifts from God just waiting to be opened. Open your gifts with excitement. You will find forgiveness attached to ribbons of joy. You will find love wrapped in sparkling gems.

              

9. I’ll stand, with arms high and heart abandoned in awe of the One who gave it all. I’ll stand, my soul Lord to You surrendered. All I am is Yours.

         

10. Sometimes, I feel alone. Some days are long and hard. But when I look out into the world, I am struck by the impossible beauty of it all. Those billions of magnificent accidents that lead us to where we are today, that led us to paper planes and nautilus shells and the tiny, crooked smiles of children. When I think of all the small perfections of the world, I have faith that my time will come. I have faith that someday, a warm light will flood over me, and I will find peace. 

          

11. Put God first in every aspect of your life.

        

12. God will take you through hell just to get you to heaven.

       

13. So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we’ll never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.

           

14. Nothing is more beautiful than a girl who doesn’t pretend to be something she’s not, down to earth, and lets no guy define who she is.

          

15. Dear whoever is reading this: you’re beautiful and someone out there is crazy about you. So smile. Life’s too short to be unhappy.

              

16. What makes you happy? Is it the feeling you get when you’re excited but scared at the same time when a thunderstorm is happening? Or when you finally see someone you haven’t seen in a long time? Is it merely just loving life? If you think that achieving your goals, or being in a relationship, or thinking about your future makes you happy, you’re not. You can’t be authentically happy about things you have no control over.

         

17. You are a perfectly acceptable human being right now, this minute. You are just as valid as any other human being, without changing a single thing about yourself. That doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to want to grow, evolve or improve yourself, or you can’t do better sometimes. It just means that right now this instant, you are worthy of your own self love. Even if it is hard to love yourself sometimes, or you’re struggling with some really difficult stuff in your life, you still deserve it. So be kind to yourself, be kind to others, and give the best version of yourself that you can give, but know that even in the tough times, you are still valid, worthy and deserving.

         

18. Recognize your limitations and don’t overdo it. Don’t get too down on yourself for not getting things done. Try to eliminate thoughts revolving around a need to be “productive.” Recognize your needs and articulate them, especially when it comes to relationships with others. Realize there’s nothing wrong with being “selfish.” Cry when you need to. Identify and eliminate toxic people and behaviors from your life. Remember, you’re allowed to say “no,” and you deserve love too. Taking care of yourself and putting yourself first in a capitalist system is a form of resistance.

           

19. To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we only see the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places- and there are so many- where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is a marvelous victory.

            

20. I think the biggest difference between me and her, is that she’s everything you want & I’m not.

            

21. God isn’t the one who is lost; we all are. God is where He always is. We need to stop trying to “find God” and instead rid ourselves of the things that we used to hide from God.

          

22. To be loved. To know that there is someone out there who would give their all to only be with you, someone more than willing to share their world with you. Someone who will take your hand and hold it, and never ever would they let it go, never would they want to let you go. Someone who holds you in their arms, someone who tells you he’s holding his entire world there at that very moment. A person who will love you with their all. To love and be loved, that is something I wish for.