While running on my treadmill this morning, I couldn’t help but let the words of the worship songs sink into me. As I tried to sing along, I realistically could only get out like every third word. Yay for getting back into shape, right?

“Sink or swim I’m diving in
To the passion of Your heart
Where love starts

I lift my hands if my hands fail me
I’ll bend my knees if my knees grow weak
I’ll raise my voice and sing, I’ll sing
I know that You love me”  – Will Reagan & United pursuit 

…I know that He loves me. To know that He loves me unconditionally…it’s everything. My broken, insecure, constantly struggling self. He takes me with open arms and loves me.

which then led me to think of the song

“Here I am before You, falling in love and seeking Your truth
Knowing that Your perfect grace has brought me to this place
Because of You I freely live, my life to You, oh God, I give
So I stand before You, God
I lift my voice cause You set me free

So I shout out Your name, from the rooftops I proclaim
That I am Yours, I am Yours

All the good You’ve done for me, I lift my hands for all to see
You’re the only one who brings me to my knees
To share this love across the earth, the beauty of Your holy worth
So I kneel before You, God
I lift my hands cause You set me free” – Jesus Culture

I started thinking of the verse, All the good You’ve done for me, I lift my hands for all to see. I even thought about putting that as my facebook status. But I don’t want people to think I live this perfect and problem free life. I’m just a normal mom and wife doing everyday life. I have faced very very very hard seasons in my short 24 years. Yet, here I stand, still praising God for the good in my life.  You see, you can’t appreciate the peace, the calm, the mountain top, without the valley, struggles and storms. There are seasons that come and go in our lives. Some are a lot longer than others. Some are hurricanes, when they build up, move in, consume and destroy and you’re left in a wake of destruction, trying to rebuild. Others are a quick afternoon shower that the only reason you noticed it happened was because the grass is wet. Sometimes it doesn’t rain for days, weeks or MONTHS and you forget what it’s even like for it to storm.

Here’s the thing though, without the extremely trying and sometimes crushing seasons I’ve gone through, I wouldn’t be able to appreciate when it’s sunny. Patrick and I had a very hard first year of marriage but we survived and now look where we are. A family of three where we haven’t seen a hurricane in a very long time. An afternoon windy thunderstorm, yes but by God’s grace, hurricane season is over.

Everybody goes through seasons or storms where everyday life can feel like an uphill battle… in slippery mud…. with rocks being thrown at you as you climb and fire ants eating your skin. BUT! Storms won’t last forever. Do storms cause damage? They can… but that’s not the end of the story. You rebuild. You move forward. You climb the mountain so that eventually, you stand as an overcomer at the mountain top. You look back and see how far you’ve come and you reflect on how the storm changed you.

How to make it through the storm:

1. Remember that you’re already victorious over every trial, circumstance and trying season. Jesus died on the cross so that we could have VICTORY in this life.

2. Find like minded people to cheer you on when you’re fighting your way up the mountain.

Don’t climb alone. period. Find a group or even just one person to help support you when you need it the most.

3. Stay rooted in God’s promises. 

Find out what the bible says about your circumstance. Then stand firm and grasp tightly to what the scripture says.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from people who have been on the path you are climbing.

They can help point you in the right direction on where to plant your feet to safely make it to the top.

5. Even if you feel like the storm will never end, it can’t last forever. Turn to the One who will give you shelter and rest when you feel like you can’t go on.

I still have a index card on my bathroom mirror with the verse Matthew 11:28

²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]

from 3 years ago when I was working 70 hour weeks trying to do Miss Jee’s, go to school full time and work a full time nannying job. I would wake up in tears from exhaustion wondering how I was going to do it all. 3 years later, I look back and I thank God that I made it through that exhausting season.

The same can go for mamahood. I look back on the sleepless nights in the beginning when I couldn’t see straight from the pain of giving birth and the lack of sleep and yet I survived.

Going through a storm that you don’t see the end to? Hang on. It won’t last forever. 

 Praying for all the mama’s out there who are struggling. Who need rest. Who feel like they’re drowning. You’re going to make it. It’s just a season. You can do this. He’s got you. He hears you. He see’s you. You’re going to make it to that mountain top.