Every cloud has a silver lining, they say. If you look hard enough—and think positive thoughts—you’re bound to uncover happiness in the midst of despair. But what happens when your cloud looks perpetually gray? When you’re desperately searching for a healthy outlook, but only feel downtrodden and defeated?… Read More

What has tested your faith? Joblessness? Loss of a loved one? A dream that never materialized? An intellectual question you couldn’t resolve? These are situations that push us to re-evaluate our beliefs and make us wonder if we can really trust God. Sometimes they make us want to throw… Read More

I just can’t catch a break! Have you ever experienced a season when you’ve been hit with hard circumstance after hard circumstance? Just when life couldn’t get any worse… WHAM…you get slammed with another challenging situation. You feel as if everything has come crashing down all at once. In… Read More

Life often feels like a never-ending game of Jenga, doesn’t it? You cautiously build your tower—one block after another, one decision after the next—until your structure begins to look slanted and misshaped. You carefully make your next move, hoping for the best as you delicately pull a block from… Read More

Like any young girl, I always imagined growing up and having a perfect little family: three kids, a house, some grass and, you know, a husband. In a million years, I never thought I’d be living as a single parent. See, it didn’t start off that way. I… Read More

For the third Monday in a row, I woke up feeling anxious. While seeking a job that would bring me closer to my family—and ultimately, my future wife—I felt impatient. I had grown tired of waiting for God to provide a solution and, as a result, began to doubt… Read More

The sun was out when I strapped my 3-year-old nephew into the car. We were on our way to the museum, and he was excited to ride the choo-choo train on the museum grounds. But when we pulled into the parking lot, we began to feel a slight drizzle. Shortly… Read More

When you fear the future, the struggle often feels all-consuming. “What ifs” seem to run wild in your mind. You strive to focus on the task at hand—but without fail, you surrender to a fear that feels insurmountable. What does tomorrow hold? What if the future feels hopeless?… Read More

I know what it’s like to fear failure. As a classic over-thinker, I often deliberate over outcomes until I’ve exhausted my ability to think clearly. Why? Because I don’t want to fail. I don’t want others to see me in a state of defeat. And more than anything, I… Read More

In grade school, I routinely feared the unstructured summer months. New schedules, new responsibilities, new commitments—the “newness” of summer life always unearthed my deepest anxieties, leaving my head spinning as I wrestled with the transition. Once I had fully adjusted to life beyond the classroom, I began preparing for a… Read More