It’s often said that we learn more from our mistakes and trials than our successes. This year I’ve experienced how this is true.
I wanted to share the lessons I’ve learned in the hope they might encourage someone else going through a difficult time. While I know sadly these lessons are often only learned through experience. While we live in a broken world pain will always be with us, but there is so much better for us – for you.
These are the lessons I’ve learned:
1.Time doesn’t heal, God does.
- Praying women
I wanted to share the lessons I’ve learned in the hope they might encourage someone else going through a difficult time. While I know sadly these lessons are often only learned through experience. While we live in a broken world pain will always be with us, but there is so much better for us – for you.
These are the lessons I’ve learned:
Hard times will come. They will change you. While some may say you’ll be stronger as a result, that might not be the case (and you certainly won’t feel it as you’re healing!). They could leave you more broken than before. I can tell this with my own experience - Time doesn’t heal, God does.2. God always forgives
Sometimes you will make mistakes; consciously or unconsciously. Either way, admit to them and their consequences. Learn from them. Commit to never doing them again. While God always forgives, He ultimately only wants the best for us. He loves us too much to leave us the way we are, and when we make mistakes, it’s a clear indication something needs to change.3. There is always hope
Make sure you know where your hope lies. Even in the darkest of times when all hope seems to be gone, the hope God provides is the one thing that will always remain. When everything fails, hope still remains. Never loose hope, you never know what tomorrow will bring.4. Love them by letting them
Life is like the wind. It can change direction at any time, and is subject to forces beyond the eye can see. While we can plan our ways, it’s God who determines our path. Our own plans are futile unless they are in line with the wind, and they are the absolute best when they are. Everyone can choose to walk away. Love them by letting them. The best way to live is to let go. Pray for them and leave them in God’s hands. Not everyone, who crosses your path are meant to stay there forever!5. Forgiveness is a gift
Forgiveness isn’t easy. It doesn’t take away the pain, and it doesn’t mean it’s deserved. Some will say to forgive because it helps you move forward yourself. While there is truth in that, it’s not true forgiveness. Forgiveness is a gift, a selfless act of love that is given, not something that is done to receive. The only place I have found truth in forgiveness is through a deeper revelation of how God loves us: unconditionally and undeserved. When I understood this I saw how God wants freedom in forgiveness for everyone; even those who have caused us pain. That’s why we forgive; because we were first forgiven. How? Not in our own strength, but by seeing those who’ve hurt us through God’s eyes: with His unconditional and abundant love.If at the end of a hard year you more honestly love and are loved than at the beginning, it hasn’t just been a hard year – it’s been a very good year.
- Praying women
