The Other Side

Have you ever been through something so traumatic, so hurtful, so painful that you thought you'd never smile again?

I think a lot of us probably have.

I have had conversations with others where we all agreed.... when going through a hard trial of life, nothing seems to fill you with joy as it once could.

There have been times in my life of absolute happiness. Even when bad days would come and go, I was happy.

And then there have been times where nothing could really make me smile. I was in a season of mourning.

Is this not the normal ebb and flow of life? Ecclesasties talks about the seasons of life and how there are times of sadness and times of triumph. For whatever reason, that simple truth was very hard to grasp for me as a young adult.

Sometimes when bad things happen, we tend to think nothing good will ever happen again. But of course, that is just not true.

This blog is meant to encourage the overcomer spirit in us all, but because of the nature of it, most of my posts have some sort of negativity in them. They are mostly centered around trials and how to make it through them, always growing with the pain. Probably because that's what I needed. I needed perspective while going through the different seasons that helped me see God's work in all of it.

But there is also joy in overcoming. And if we can be honest about our problems, we should be able to be honest about our successes. You see, every mountain you have to climb has another side once you get to the top. Sometimes it's so hard to see that because our mountains are so large. There is much trouble and strife in the climb. But where there's an uphill battle there is a downhill slide.

And the other side is filled with blessings that were once hard to fathom.

Some of those blessings come in the form of achieving something you worked hard for.. like a medical coding certification.

Or spending spring break with your kids at the Houston Rodeo because you actually have time off work for a change. ☺

And then there is Easter Sunday, spent worshiping God with your kids in their Sunday best..

And so many more blessings that shouldn't be shared in a public way. 😉

So I just want to encourage you today to see the blessings in the storm... And know that on the other side there will be moments of pure joy again.

I'm happily in a season of life right now where the dark cloud has lifted and I'm viewing the rainbow.

But you may still be in the rain. And so I say, keep walking. Keep growing. Keep climbing. His goodness and mercy will follow you through it all.

Keep the faith. Keep overcoming.
-Mel