Hello, my lovely readers! I suggest you get comfortable as this blog post will be a little deeper than usual.
We’re going on almost ten months now since I wrote my first blog post. For those of you who have supported me from day one, I greatly appreciate you! I have to say, I’m still shocked by the number of individuals who have contacted me and said, “Hey, I read your blog…” I didn’t know how many people would actually take the time to read heartfelt posts written by a young woman who’s trying to spread some hope by sharing her life experiences. But the more I wrote, the more I realized how impactful human connections and life stories can be.
When I first began blogging, I had this desire to reach many people and to keep them coming back to my blog for more. More hope, or encouragement, or whatever form of comfort they found in my words. I thought that in order to reach a lot of different people I had to keep my views and beliefs modest, or else I might miss out on an opportunity to share hope with someone of different beliefs and views. And I hope that even if you do believe differently or disagree with something I write about, you can still find it in your heart to continue reading my blog.
So before I dive into a somewhat deeper subject, I want to say this: whatever you believe, whatever race you are, whatever gender you are or identify as, whatever form of income you make, whatever walk of life you are in, whatever you are going through, you are loved and there is hope. Each and every blog post that I write is for YOU.
The truth is, the words I write and the encouragement I share are temporary. I’ve realized that if I were to remain modest with my beliefs, then I would not be impacting you, my readers, in the long run. I love each of my readers and I want to help you find joy and hope even in the midst of the heartache and pain, just as I have. However, true hope and true joy is only found in Someone much greater than I.
I had a friend approach me last week. They said, “I just don’t understand how you can be this happy and passionate about life given your current situation.” I looked them in the eyes and said, “It all stems from where my hope is placed.”
You see, it doesn’t matter who you are. At the end of each day, we are all searching for something to put our hope in and to hope for. You might place your hope in things such as money, a job, or possessions. Or perhaps you place your hope in other people and relationships. At some point in your life, those things will fail you, and my question to you is this: when those things that you placed your hope in, fail you, what do you have left to hope for? You can lose that job or that relationship and pretend to move on, and eventually, do so because that’s the strong thing to do. You can share the inspirational quotes on your social media and share with your friends how great you’re doing since your last hope failed you and the new things you’re placing your hope in. You can even get inspired by the self-love message and begin placing your hope in yourself. But my dear friends, the hardest thing to realize is that you will fail yourself. Yes, self-love is very important. And yes, you have so much value. But you are not perfect, and you will fail yourself and other people. In fact, recognizing that puts a whole new meaning on love. Love, despite failure and imperfection, is a much more powerful love. But it’s also important to recognize that we can’t keep placing our hope in things that will fail.
As a young woman, one of the things that I told myself as an influencer was that I needed to realize and help other women realize that we are enough. But the truth is, I am not enough for myself. None of us are truly enough. If we were enough, we could place our hope in ourselves.
So right about now, you may be thinking, well what now? You’ve shot down my spirits and basically told me that I’m a failure and not enough for anyone, let alone myself.
Yes, your life is beautiful and you have value, but no, you yourself are not enough to place your hope in. With all modesty aside I say this: there is Someone who is enough. There is Someone who will not fail you. There is Someone whom you can place all hope in. Sometimes we have to come to the end of ourselves to realize how much we need Him.
I am truly happy and full of passion simply because I have placed my hope in Jesus. I know that no matter how many times life knocks me down, He will be there. My hope is in Him alone.
I don’t know what you’re going through, and I don’t know what you believe, but I do know that deep down, you are searching for something to hope in. When you get to that point where it seems all hope is lost, remember this post.
Because you are loved, and there is hope, and each and every blog post that I write is for YOU.
