Holes.

I spent a good portion of my life running from hard things.

I lived to keep busy- making sure every little square on the calendar had something to fill it, barely scheduling time to sit and breathe. 

At times, I shopped recklessly and consumed foolishly. I made decisions that seemed worth it at the time just so I could have a little "fun." I exaggerated. I overcompensated. I fought really hard for the things I wanted. And somehow, those things made me a little happier. They temporarily muffled the roar of my empty soul. 

There are still moments and minutes and days where I make these choices. 

We all have holes. and we all have different ways that we attempt to fill them. 

But they exist for each of us. And in the most inconvenient times, in the most inconvenient places, they rise up and try to stake their claim. In relationships. In fears. In doubts. In insecurities. Even in success. 

It's why we need Jesus. It's how we journey together. 

“No matter how different our circumstances may be, we each live and lose and love and cry and work and let go and endure and break down and get back up. It is the universal tie that binds all of us together, and it matters deeply. I know that the fullness of how we love each other as human beings is in our understanding of how similar we really are, and how much we need each other to care. We truly were not meant to take this journey alone.”  ~ Lisa Whittle

Even in the gaps and the crevices, I find great hope. 

The holes are the very place that we can most find God. 

When the church has let us down, our roles seem unappreciated, our choices have threatened to define our lives... wellness, joy, and perfect peace can be breathed into the empty spaces of our life- a rich, full life that isn't about what we do or what we have been taught or what we've lived through. Instead, it becomes about what Jesus has written on the pages of our journey. 

It's about where we have lacked, but He has always been enough. 

It's about where we have fallen, but He has never faltered. 

It's about where we have holes, but He has divinely filled them. 

My story, your story, doesn't end with the holes. With Jesus, the holes are the beginning. 

Because when we are willing to look at the dark, deep, unexposed pieces... we discover truth. 

We find community. We find bravery. We find healing. 

And Jesus, who fills our souls with Himself... makes all things well.

Love to you,

Lyss