When my student was about to move out of the shelter she had been in for yrs, her first emotion was fear

I was so stunned by that. This is what we had been working toward. Why are you afraid?

& she said “because struggle is all I know. It’s who I am. Who will I be without it?”

& I didn’t understand that then

But now I do.. for those of us who mainly pray “help!” It becomes who we are

We are in a constant state of reliance on God to meet even basic needs

& what if one day that changes?
What if one day we don’t need as much help?

Who are we then?

Sometimes our struggles can be a part of us so much that it becomes hard to imagine a life that isn’t defined by that area of brokenness

& I just think we should talk about that more

That stepping into even seemingly good things can be scary

If you’ve never known goodness

& it should also make us very sad

That for some of us, it’s not just that we know struggle

It’s that struggle has become who we are

one more example:

I have a friend who I have been praying w/ for 10 yrs to meet someone

She is now dating a great guy, & I’ve noticed her instincts are to find something wrong

We have to be so careful not to ruin good things because our pattern tells us we can’t have them