…If everything is already preordained, why do our decisions seem to matter so much? Why do acts of kindness open one door while bitterness closes another? Why does discipline often produce different results than complacency? Why do two people, given similar opportunities, sometimes end up living completely different lives?…

…The timing always makes me pause.  Was God gently holding me back because it wasn’t the right season? Or was I simply seeing the results of months, or even years, of quiet effort that I couldn’t appreciate while I was in the middle of it?  Maybe it’s both…

…The more I thought about it, the more I realized that hope is what keeps everything else alive. Without hope, peace slowly slips away. Faith becomes harder to hold on to. Joy becomes more difficult to find. Even love can struggle when there is no hope left. Hope doesn’t just help us survive…

…Sometimes, intentionally or unintentionally, people decide that because you are in their orbit, they somehow have a say in how you should live yours. They may not speak the words aloud, but their expectations become clear. They believe you should think as they think, choose as they choose, and live as they would live…

…Burning a bridge doesn’t always mean ending a relationship dramatically. Sometimes it simply means deciding that you will no longer return to a place, a habit, or a mindset that prevented you from becoming who you were created to be.  Maybe the bridge isn’t to another person at all.  Maybe it’s to self-doubt…