Life sure can be funny. One minute I feel as though I can conquer the world and the next I don’t want to get out of bed. Let’s face it…life is full of highs and lows. Being a person that comes from a family filled with anxiety and who battles Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), I tend to experience ups and downs more often than a grown adult attempting to learn how to snowboard. :) Back when I took a leap of faith and left the comfort of my well paying job at my family’s business to pursue a career that focused on helping others, I was driven, determined, and full of energy towards living my life with purpose. Today, I still feel driven and determined and have made much progress, but I also have days when I wonder what in the world am I doing and feel as though I’m on a ship taking on lots of water. :) Well…guess what gets me through my down times? Faith! Sounds easy doesn’t it. Have faith and you will feel fine. Wrong. Having faith can be hard work and often requires feeling uncomfortable. Who said having faith was a piece of cake? Sure, it can be easy to have faith when everything is going well and life smells like roses. But let’s face it, as Forrest Gump once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates…you never know what you are going to get!" So what do I do when my faith is tested? I pray. Why?…Why not?

For me, relying on a power greater to guide me along the way is the only way to go. Want to give it a try? Ask God for specifically what you need. Then, don't be completely surprised when God responds in ways that can be difficult to see. If you pray for patience, look for God to put you in situations where your patience is tested. If you pray for strength, look for God to provide you with opportunities to be practice being strong. If you pray for courage, look for God to provide you with opportunities to be courageous. If you seem to find yourself experiencing ups and downs, try to remember that like snowboarding, the fun part of life is learning how to get back up after you fall.