In my search for meaning and truth in life, like most young people, I was also faced with the challenge of finding a purposeful direction for my life. Which way would I go, what would I do, what would my beliefs be?
It’s like being in front of one of those signposts you find while hiking. There are several signs that point in different directions and tell you each trail’s degree of difficulty. Some routes are only for experienced mountaineers, some are medium difficulty, and others are pretty easy for anyone to attempt. I love to hike, and I’ve learned that even though these signs are often helpful, there are times when, after you’ve taken the paths they indicate, they leave you puzzled and almost disappointed with the rating. There are quite a lot of debates in the hiking community over how to grade routes, because there are so many factors that can determine the difficulty, such as age, fitness, weather conditions, and so on.
I’m pretty sure some of the life paths I decided to take turned out to be a lot more difficult than I thought, and looking back, I wonder if I would still choose them with the benefit of hindsight. I even sometimes question if I was tricked into some of them. I’m sure I wasn’t really aware of all that they would entail. But life’s surprises are something no one will ever be able to fully prepare you for, and today, I’m so glad I had the courage (or craziness) to embrace some of them. They’re what made me who I am today.
God has purpose for your pain, a reason for your struggle and a gift for your faithfulness. Don’t give up.―Anonymous
Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.—Joshua J. Marine
It’s only after you’ve stepped outside your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform.—Roy T. Bennett (1939–2014)
You can know Jesus personally by inviting Him into your life:
Dear Jesus, thank You for dying for me so I can have eternal life. Please forgive me for the wrong things I have done. Come into my heart, grant me Your gift of eternal life, fill me with Your Holy Spirit, and help me to know Your love and peace. Thank You for being with me always, from this moment on. Amen.