Sometimes life is hard. Pain comes. Grief, betrayal, suffering, and sickness are all a part of living in today’s world. Sometimes putting on a brave face and moving forward is the last thing that we want to do.
When my boys were young, I left my job at a Fortune 2 company to stay home with them. I left a high paid consultancy, my suits, stimulating adult conversations and corporate lunches behind for diaper changes, snotty noses, endless food prep, and messes. Transitioning from full-time employment outside of the house to being home full-time with babies and toddlers is hard.
And because I am a glutton for punishment, shortly after returning home, I decided to homeschool my boys. In the best of circumstances, homeschooling is hard.
Flash forward, and I had three boys: one in elementary school, a special needs toddler, and a baby. Juggling the three boys, homeschooling and running a house was hard.
Did I mention that I lived next door to my in-laws, which had its own unique set of circumstances?
Life was hard, but it was good until both my mother-in-law and father-in-law got brain tumors at the same time, and they both needed brain surgery. Thankfully, my mother-in-law’s tumor was benign, but my father-in-law had brain cancer and had to undergo several rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and three brain surgeries.
We spent the better part of the next two years back and forth to the Houston medical center from our home in the suburbs. And when we were home our table of five became a table of seven most evenings.
My days went from arduous to grueling. I was overwhelmed by the gravity of the trials we were facing, and at times it felt like more than I could bear. With each passing day, I felt more alone and hopeless. While my friends were taking their kids to the park, enjoying playdates, playing tennis and gathering for lunch, I was drowning in a life behind closed doors.
Have you ever gone through times when life is so hard that you don’t know if you can make it through another day? That is where I was on those dark days, and they probably would have consumed me if not for Jesus. I spent hours on end crying out to God for mercy, and healing.
And this what I learned…
Jesus knows our suffering, and he sees us right in the midst of our hard circumstance.
He knows our pain and is Himself intimately acquainted with suffering. As I poured my heart out to Jesus in prayer and petition, I highlighted every Bible verse and promise of hope and healing I could find. In doing this, I exchanged my struggles and pain for His mercy, grace, hope, and love.
“cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7
When we cast our cares on Jesus, we find He cares for us. He loves us with an everlasting love.
Download Your Made for Brave Manifesto!
Sisters, we are called to walk the way of hope instead of the way of defeat. We must claim more than our title of “Daughter of the King.” We must step up and also claim our position.
And we must claim these together. As a sisterhood; a sisterhood of brave women who stand strong in the promises of who God is and who we are.
- We all are Made for Brave.
- We are made to live for something authentic and brave.
- In living brave, we silence the past, transform the future, and take a front row seat to God’s wild and uncontainable love!
So, I’m inviting you to join this Made for Brave Sisterhood, each Monday as we share our stories and allow God to bring hope and healing. Let’s commit to being authentic and brave, one step at a time, side by side, holding each other up and nudging each other toward our true selves. And let’s claim the victory waiting on the other side of brave; for ourselves and our sisterhood.
Let’s celebrate our tears and our struggles as we peel away the layers of fear to reveal the beauty of brave.
Let’s risk everything that brave requires for everything that brave has to offer…
Becoming who we were created to be!
Join the Made for Brave Sisterhood Every Monday - Sharing our stories of becoming who we were created to be! #MadeforBrave #Sisterhood Share on XDo you have a Made for Brave story to share? Get the writing guidelines and submit your stories HERE!
