We’ve all been there at some point or another…we’ve received bad news, we are experiencing a painful situation, or we are having relationship problems. Perhaps we are feeling helpless, hopeless, or just plain exhausted by the weight of life and our seemingly unending responsibilities. These are often the days when we are hoping someone will come along and say just the right thing…that thing that will cheer us, encourage us, or uplift us in just the right way. My hope is that you will find something like that here, and tuck it away for a difficult day. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned about this thing called life, it’s that it won’t always be easy. But if we keep searching, hope is there, simply waiting to be found.
“You may encounter many defeats, but 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
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” – Mary Anne Radmacher
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” – Martin Luther
“You never know what’s around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you’ve climbed a mountain.” – Tom Hiddleston
“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles; the will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:31
“To learn strong faith is to endure great trials. I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings.” – George Mueller
“We must never despair; our situation has been compromising before, and it has changed for the better; so I trust it will again. If difficulties arise, we must put forth new exertion and proportion our efforts to the exigencies of the times.” – George Washington
“God knows our situation; He will not judge us as if we had no difficulties to overcome. What matters is the sincerity and perseverance of our will to overcome them. We all want progress, but if you’re on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive. What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step.” – C.S. Lewis