Have you ever had one of those weeks that was just emotionally draining? Yeah me too and that has been my past week. So much change and hurt has echoed through the life of my friends and myself. I have seen my friends struggle, faced my own pains and most of the time didn't know what to do about it.

I have been feeling so powerless in these times. I just wish that good people didn't experience some of the pain they have. But God is in it all.

God isn't the one who allows the pain to come into our lives, that is the path we as humans have chosen through the first sin. Man chose autonomy from God and because of that God's creation was corrupted. But that's not where the story ends. Ever since that moment God has worked on fixing what was broken in His good creation. God even went to the extent of sending Jesus to redeem us and the whole creation. Brokenness didn't win. Our hardships aren't meaningless pain but can be used for the plans He has for our lives.

My life has been filled with hardships of many kinds. To say the very least, I should not be where I am at all. I should be a failure. A child growing up without a father and with a mother who was addicted to drugs should not be currently enrolled at a Christian university preparing for a career in youth ministry. What part of that makes sense?

I have been having to remind myself that hardships are not the end but a way to prepare oneself for the journey ahead. My story is a reflection of that truth. Each hardship and trial has been a learning experience and something that God has used for my own personal growth. I have been growing into the person God sees me being through every trial. It has been anything but a fun process. Although, I can say I am becoming stronger and stronger with each one that passes.

C. S. Lewis once said, "Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny." If you look around long enough the truth of this statement is seen all around. Think about it, who are the most inspirational people? Who are the ones that become the biggest forces for good? Who are the ones that go up and beyond the expectations to help others? The ones who have seen the darkness in their own lives or of those around them and because of that were prepared for their extraordinary destiny.

Many of you have faced all kinds of hardships that I can't even imagine. From broken relationships to drug addiction and everything beyond and between that. And then there are those of you who have not had any crazy hardships in life. Just because you don't have any crazy hardships that does not make those that you have had any less significant. We all face brokenness in our everyday lives but remember that isn't the end of your story. You all have an extraordinary destiny ahead so use these times to prepare for it.

James 1:2-3 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." Be strong my friends. God can work through any of the brokenness in your life and grow you in it.