We've all been there before.

We've all had them.

There isn't a single person on earth who hasn't gone through a rough patch in their life.

I know I have.

For not even being 30 yet, I've definitely had my fair share of rough patches.

More than a lot of people my age and less than others.

And every time I hit them, I never have any idea how I'm going to make it through. But I do.

Every time things get hard, it's the hardest thing I've ever had to go through... Until the next time.

And to this day I'm not quite sure how I made it though some of them, I don't really know how I'm making it through right now, yet I wake up each morning to live another day.

The one thing I do know, God.

I will never have any idea how I'm going to make it when things get rough, but He does. He's got it all planned out before it even happens. He's not worried in the slightest on how I'm going to make it through because He already knows that I will.

And if I'm being honest, I worry and fret and melt down enough for the both of us in those times anyway so...

The only thing that's been different lately is that even though I can't help but worry in moments of weakness, I mostly have peace. Peace in the knowledge that I'm going to make it through, no matter how tough the situations of the day may be. Peace in the fact that no matter how big of a control freak I may tend to be, I don't have to be in control.

All I have to do is have faith and trust in God and his timing.

Yes, it is easier said (or in this case, typed) than done. But it can be done. You just have to make the decision every day, multiple times of day, to trust in God and his timing.

Because no matter what we want, when we want it, or how we want it, it'll never happen unless it's His will for our lives and it aligns with His purpose.

It's a hard pill to swallow, or at least it was for me. Surrendering isn't exactly human nature. Our nature is to survive and do what we think is best... Except what we think is best isn't always what's best.

We forget that most of the time, and history shows us this also, that when we do what WE want to do and don't listen to what GOD has planned for our lives, it doesn't turn out as we had planned.

We forget that God is never going to lead you down the easy road; He is going to lead you down the one no one has ever been on before, in fact, where he takes you there most often won't be a road at all for He is commissioning you to create it.

We forget that where we perceive something as a weakness, most often God sees it as our biggest strength. He will make it our biggest strength.

We forget, because comfortable is something we've been told to strive for, that the place we don't want to be, the one that makes us most uncomfortable, is the place where we are most needed.

God isn't going to ask you to do things you'd choose to do on your own. He isn't going to ask you to deal with things you could easily deal with on your own, no He's going to stretch you farther than you ever thought possible.

And it's going to be rough.

It's going to be hard.

It's going to feel like it is crushing you, like there is no way you will make it through.

And it's going to be absolutely anything but easy.

But then again, God never said that it would be.

Faith is hard.

Trust is terrifying.

And leaving the outcome of your life is someone else's hands just seems insane.

But what God did say, was that it would be worth it.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my all time favorite verses, and one of the many that help me remember the gift of God's peace that I have inside of me as long as I remember to trust and have faith. For His plans for my life far surpass anything I could ever begin to imagine.

Tough times are tough, but with God there isn't a mountain high enough we can't climb.

You're going to come out with a whole lot of bumps and bruises and maybe some scars, but get through it you will and you'll never be sorry for a single mark you received during that time for it'll shape who you are.

He will use your times of trial to shape you into the person He means for you to be.

All you have to do is have faith and trust in God and his timing.

XOXO

~Cassie Ann