These autumn days always leave my soul drenched in a little more gratitude than usual. Although life seems busier this time of year, my heart also finds a sweet serenity in the routine of life, and all this season has to offer.

As I reflect on the last 365 days, I’m filled with a deep sense of gratitude— for the bad days, for the struggles, for the fights, for the disappointments and the let-downs, for the tears…because those are the moments that grew us the most.

As humans, we so often measure our lives by the milestones and the goals we’ve met. Yet, how easy it is to forget that the greatest growth always comes in the midst of the journey, not from the end result.

My mind mulls over these things, and the difficulties of life. Like a tornado sweeping through a city, no one is left untouched. And no matter how you barricade your heart, trials will come.

In the midst of it, how easy it is to feel deserted.
Abandoned.
To doubt. To question.
To feel utterly hopeless.

Sometimes in the eye of the storm, it’s impossible to see anything but the looming clouds of darkness that surround you, but, if you were to view this same storm from space, your perspective would be incredibly different…

You would see the storm for what it is, a definite force capable of destruction, but there is also a great light and the calm lies just beyond it.

It’s the quiet calm of Christ in the midst of the storm that gives a man the strength to step out against all odds and face the trials of life. <==Click to Tweet

“I am leaving you with a gift―peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” —John 14:27

We never stop learning, and God, in His absolute love for us, never stops giving us the chance.

Each new day is the birth of a life-changing journey waiting to be unfurled. <==Click to Tweet

“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.” ―Winston Churchill

Shared By: Lisa Larson

Photo Credit #1: Davide D’Amico
Photo Credit #2: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center