As anyone who knows me well enough knows… I have a slight obsession with TOMS shoes. I love them because they are comfortable, stylish, and they are doing an amazing job of helping the world one pair of shoes at a time. I constantly find my self shopping their site on the hunt for a new pair. Chalk it up to a serious shopping problem, or my innate need to help the world…you choose. J
And as I was browsing their site I came across this shoe… (Journey is the Destination)
And I fell in love… There is something so powerful about that message to me. Sometimes we get so caught up with where we should be, where we need to be and where we are not…that we forget to appreciate the Journey along the way. We keep our eyes fixed on the “finish line” but don’t see all the lessons we could be soaking in along the way. We have tunnel vision and forget to recognize the people that are right there walking along side us. I know I have made this mistake many times. I am focused on where I should be and where I am not, but I don’t even bother to turn around and see how far I have come. I need to understand that I am not perfect, and I will never be perfect on this Earth. But each time that I fall and I do not allow my self to turn around and run back into the hole… I am making progress. I will stumble and I will fall. But I am not a failure. Even if I don’t make it to where I think I should be, I have made it somewhere and that should be worth something to me. This doesn’t mean I will stop “going for the gold” and give up altogether. Defeat is no longer in my vocabulary. I am determined to continue to fight the good fight because I know there is something greater for me out there I am learning to appreciate this journey that I am on even more. I accept it fully with all the triumphant victories and even the devastating mistakes.
I am starting a new journey in my life in so many ways. The last two years have been difficult and have tried and tested me but they did not take me down because I am still standing. When people look at me who know what I have been through they tell me I am strong. But I know better, The ONE i am holding onto is bigger than all my heartache and bigger than all my mistakes and my failures. God has brought me through this trial and I know He is taking me on a greater journey than I imagined before. I am excited for this journey ahead of me. In a few days I will turn 24, and I am beginning this new year of life doing something that truly matters to me: The Out of The Darkness Overnight. I am nervous, excited, somber, moved and hopeful all at the same time. I am ready for the journey ahead of me, whatever life throws at me.
Hope Rising Project 