These past two weeks, I have felt a range of emotions. From affirmation to abandonment. From desire to devastation. From romance to resent. From confidence to confusion. From love to lonely. And while riding those waves of emotions where some days I surfed, and some days I sank (and that’s okay), I have been reminded that life is a series of breaking and becoming, of hurt and healing, of grief and gain. And although life presents dichotomies, it’s in the gaps where you can find the most growth... the growth in becoming more true, more free, more you. So as I reflect watching the waves from the shore, below are a few words that have helped me stay grounded amongst the storm. 1. Give grace to your pace. 2. We are the only ones who have to live between our ears. And each day we have the opportunity to find freedom from ourselves and make it as much of a comfortable place as we can. 3. People’s actions are not a reflection of you, so don’t take it personally. 4. Our disappointed desire is what hurts us, not someone’s action. 5. We tend to look externally when we have lost connection internally. 6. Attraction is about impulse. Satisfaction is about input. 7. Trials test the extent of our obedience by revealing what our faith is founded in. 8. Everyone is on their own journey. 9. The past is your ally in repairing your present and ensuring a better future. 10. There can be contentment “in” your trial, not “with” your trial. It doesn’t change your feeling about it, but how you are feeling within it. 11. We are responsible to others and for ourselves. 12. We need boundaries in our lives to determine the distance at which we can love ourselves and others.