Undoubtedly, failure is growth in pain’s disguise.

Sometimes what is said to be a gift may appear more of a curse only because the greatest gifts of all are the gifts that have enough disruptive force to break us out of everything that’s breaking us. And God loves us far too much not to give us exactly those kinds of gifts.

Pain is the fire that steels the soul to better fight life’s battles and more deeply appreciate its beauty because of the battles. But maybe one of the greatest battles is being willing to live the beauty of this reality.

While the wise person does not invite hardship, the first thing that they see when it shows up is opportunity.

Our experiences are the building blocks of the future hewn out of the granite of the present.

Am I a storm-waster? For it is within the fury of the very storms within which I cower that I find resources for my growth that are entirely absent on calmer days.

Comfort is the antithesis of growth.

It’s not that love falls to the power of pain. Rather, it’s that pain is shaped by power of love.

To grow is not to timidly sit on some safe shore at water’s edge and clumsily grab whatever happens to float by me. Rather, it is to deliberately step into waters both calm and turbulent in order to wrestle great things to shore.