“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” – Maya Angelou
I like stories of broken people and how they rose again. They remind me that no matter how damaged you may have been, your life can still have purpose, some meaning you did not see before. They give me hope. They allow me to see that it is indeed possible to be healed, to be whole again, to be even far better than you were before.
The truly inspiring stories are not those with people who never fail. The most inspiring ones are about those who got really lost but somehow found their way again, those who got really sad but somehow found a way to try smiling again. These are the ones that tell us it is not yet too late for us, and no matter where we are right now, we can start over and build our dreams again.
I am weary with my groaning.
Every night I flood my bed.
I drench my couch with my tears.
My eye wastes away because of grief.
It grows old because of all my adversaries.
Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity,
for the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.
The LORD has heard my supplication.
The LORD accepts my prayer.
-Psalm 6, WEBBE
The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
"Where Hope Can Be Found"