Life is hard, really really hard. No matter who you are, you will encounter moments of deep suffering through out your life. These challenging moments shake our inner core and make us question if life is even worth it. But as time goes on, we adjust and we carry on. We learn to heal and we gain strength we never knew was possible.

Life is a gift but life is also a struggle. It's just the way it is. And for some reason we all seem to come into this world thinking it should be easy. We assume life is here to grant us happiness, and fulfillment, and inner peace. But there is more to the purpose of living. The ultimate purpose of living is to help us grow and to help us become the best we can be. And growth is not gained from life being easy. Growth is gained from our own blood, sweat, and tears. Becoming the best we can be isn't just given to us. We need to earn our badges. We need to learn from our mistakes and change because we cannot stand ourselves any longer. Life demands us to work hard. Work hard spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and also physically. Our body, spirit, and mind are works in progress and living is the vehicle for change.

Giving yourself the courage to change or even the courage to go on is harder than you might think, especially when your past is filled with one let down and then another. A history of heartbreak is very hard to get over. When it feels like the rug has been ripped out from under you over and over again, it can feel impossible to ever trust there to be ground again. But as someone who has been through hell and made it back, I can assure you that our pain and suffering is never wasted, so at least we can hold onto that. Even discouragement and fear have a greater purpose, and when we overcome these obstacles, we can rejoice at our own strength and courage. We can celebrate our victories; the ways in which we reached for more and the places where we never gave up.

Change is inevitable, and although it cannot be avoided, trying to control it never helps. The process of changing and growing is very challenging, but change can also a gift, even though it may not always seem that way. Changing allows us new opportunities and also different experiences. And with different experiences we can gain new perspectives and alternatives in our thinking, which in the end allows us to be more open-minded as well as compassionate.

True suffering pushes us beyond our limits. We are forced to go further than we feel comfortable. We are forced to be more than we thought we could be. We are even forced to give life the benefit of the doubt and to trust again and again. But these are the gifts we receive. The ability to know that “we can” and nothing can stop us. The knowledge and wisdom we gain is also a piece of the blessing. But the greatest of these gifts is that of truly knowing and believing in ourselves. A sense of peace with who we have become and all the hard work we accomplished along the way. So no matter where you are in life or how difficult something seems, know that you CAN and you WILL, with God's blessing.