The Journey

We've all had those days when it seems like life beats you down at every turn. Like nothing is going right and no matter what we try, we can't seem to come out on top. Like we're drowning, the air pressing in on us, our chests constricting under the weight of our problems. Maybe for you it's been more than a day. It's been a month. A year. Ten years. And you just can't see what good could possibly come of your suffering. All you can think is:  "God, what are you doing?!" No, wait, don't go. It's okay. You can admit it. Remember the first words I wrote up there? We've all had those days. All. Every single one of us, whether we admit it or not. Whether we choose to remember or not. See, that's part of the problem: remembering. We are such fickle, short-sighted people. During a trial, we can't see past our problems. Afterwards, we immediately forget what we went through. It's like... a mirror. When we stare our proble...

Have you ever seen the classic Disney movie Aladdin ? A quick recap, if you haven’t: A street kid finds a magic genie’s lamp and is granted three wishes. His first wish saves his life (pretty good wish, if you ask me). The third nobly frees the genie from his prison in the lamp. But the second proves to be a rather worthless wish: he wishes to be a prince so he can get the princess. Unbeknownst to him, she’s not impressed with his apparent wealth and power. In fact, she fell in love with him while he was still living on the streets. So what did his wish get him? A really angry rival and his princess (and her father) almost killed. What an unhealthy wish! Surely he could have come up with a much better one. But he wasn’t patient. All he knew was what he wanted, so he chose the quickest, easiest way to get it. Sound familiar? It does to me. To be honest, I’ve struggled with destructive desires my whole life. A few of my main ones are sugar, laziness, and possessions. Sugar… ...