Broken. Shattered. Absolutely hopeless.

I've thought these thoughts and identified myself as these things once or twice over my lifetime. I thought that my situations would never get better, my heart would never be healed, and I would live a broken life. I believed the lie that my torn up heart would carry into future relationships or permanently break my current ones. I believed that no matter what the future held, I would be damaged; I believed that there was no possible way that I could ever find myself again.

Maybe you've felt this way. Or maybe you're feeling this way right now.

Maybe there's something in your life at this current moment that is tearing your heart apart. Maybe you lost a loved one, someone shattered your heart or crushed your dreams, or maybe life isn't turning out the way you wished it would have. Maybe you're believing the whispering lies in your head that you're damaged goods. I don't know what happened to you or why you feel this way, but I'm here to shine some light, encourage you to see the truth, and push you towards hope.

When I was going through an extremely difficult trial in life, and as I was on the floor crying for what might have been an hour, a dear friend told me that it was all going to be okay, but that I had to let myself hurt.

You have to let yourself feel the pain, love.

Embrace the situation and your inner brokenness, because there's no good in ignoring them. Ignoring current situations is bound to hurt you down the road; many do this and result in deep counseling because certain psychological issues were never truly solved. Talk to whoever you need to, let your friends hold you while you cry, and call up your dad. Feel every emotion and every feeling.

But after you have done all of this, let it go.

You have a broken heart, sweet one, not a broken life. There is so much to live for, so much to dream about, and so much future to behold. There's a man out there who will treat you the way you are to be treated, friends are not always backstabbers, and you will score the dream job you have always wanted. One setback does not equal defeat. One single setback means that God has something so much better planned out in His book.

A famous Bible verse says, "For I know the plan I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11).

There's a future and there's a hope. You will not continually live in pain; your heart will be mended, happiness will return, and your current situations will not last for eternity. The best thing you can do is to continually remind yourself this incredible truth.

Please give yourself time to embrace the pain, and after all of this, let yourself feel free. Go outside and take in the beauty that is all around. A single look at God's gorgeous creation is in itself a promise for future peace and current hope. Embrace your beautiful personality, cute smile, silky hair, and strut your stuff, girl.

You're worth more than you could ever imagine. And no matter what you're going through, no matter the pain you are now enduring, I promise you'll come out so much stronger on the other side.