Find Joy in the Journey

Hey loves, Happy Tuesday! This weekend I had the privilege and honor of being a camp leader to some phenomenal ladies within our youth ministry. This was my third year at camp and it was by far the most amazing experience I have ever had.

It wouldn't be camp if we didn't have a friendly competition going on right? We were separated into team colors and our team color was Black. Our Black Team leaders went all out and bought black war paint and we made black tutu's with our girls, we were ready to lead our team to victory. Now, I would be lying if I said we dominated from the very beginning, we had a pretty rocky start. Saturday we came together as a team and decided that we were going to win this competition. It was definitely a lot of hard work, I mean it was crucial, we had girls burning their hands in scorching hot sand, running up and down crazy steep hills, getting dirty and wet, it was definitely a journey to say the least. But come Saturday night when they announced the winner guess who came in first???? BLLLAACCCKK SQUUUADDD.  You see it was a very hard and tiring journey but that journey lead us to victory. 

I looked up the definition of Journey and it means to travel from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time, it also means to progress from one stage to another.  This camp experience made me realize that we are all on a journey. Some, not as easy as others. Due to me being unemployed my husband and I have been on a financial journey. I would be lying if I said it hasn't been hard and very frustrating at times. I remember one instance in particular where I felt so frustrated and tired of being on this crazy ride. We were at the market looking for groceries to get us through the week but we had to make sure we wouldn't break the bank so we loaded up on tons of Top Ramen noodles. It may seem petty and small but it was a very humbling experience for the both of us.  I remember telling my husband to, "Soak it all in and think of it as us being on an adventure, this is just a place we are passing through".  Often times we get so caught up in our circumstances and we don't stop to embrace the struggles that we are going through, we just go through the motions. You have to change your mindset and decide that you are going to win this battle and come out of it victorious.

Today, I challenge you to find joy in YOUR journey. You may be going through something really tough right now and you feel like you're not going to make it but I'm here telling you YOU WILL MAKE IT & their is beauty in your journey. Make the decision to persevere through it. Find the beauty and the lesson in this journey and use it to encourage others.  You are going to come out of this stronger than ever. Remember every great adventure or journey has a beginning and an epic ending. Keep pushing forward until you reach victory.

XO - Mel

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