praise.

Tonight, I was asked the question, "In your life right now, what would you consider to be a thorn, a bud, and rose?"

Thorn? Okay, well where do I start? Between school and work I feel like I'm drowning; if one more person asks me when I plan on having a baby I may explode right there; I wish I could just be done with school and live in the "real world" and have a "real job"; and the list goes on and on… and on.

Bud? Easy. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. December of this year I will officially be done with college. This summer, I have the opportunity to find an internship doing something I love… So much room for growth. Bud found.

Rose? Uhhh… Rose? Can someone just hand me a rose so that I can say I have found my rose? Well, CrossFit's fun. Let's go with CrossFit.

I was nearly embarrassed at how long it took me to think of a rose in my life, and then it hit me.
I have been in such a negative place that I haven't been giving myself the opportunity to find the things worth praising in my life.

I didn't give myself the chance to see that I have the most supportive and loving husband ever, friends that love me so well, and the sweetest little pup that greets me like I'm the most fun person ever every time I walk through the door.

Positivity and gratefulness has been a definite struggle for me recently, but it wasn't until tonight that I fully realized that all of the negative thoughts that I rarely keep at bay are of satan. I am letting him run my life by simply letting him creep into my thoughts, and I have had enough.

I will praise God through this storm that I feel just won't let up. I will praise him because even though this world can be so cruel, he is so good.
He is showing me that on my own I am weak.
He is proving me that I am strong when I am reliant on him.
I can handle everything thrown at me.
I am a child of God.
I will praise my father because, even in the hardest of times, he is my light.