Failure hurts.

It burns like fire.

Failure hurts.

It cuts like a knife.

Failure teaches.

It helps us learn from our mistakes.

Failure heals.

It hurts for a while, but after a bit, the pain disappears like a cut healing.

Failure scares.

It scares us into submission, into backing down from what we need to do.

Failure leads.

It leads us into the next steps to getting back up again.

Failure gives way to success.

It shows us what doesn’t work so we can do what does work.

Failure hurts.

But it doesn’t stay that way. Learn from your failures, from your mistakes, don’t quit, don’t give up.

That is what failure feels like.

@DidYouEatYet

My craziest idea is to create tiny tigers. Well, a whole tiny jungle. The animals would only be as tiny as dime, and they would be living and breathing, totally alive. Then, I'd create several different regions, like oceans would have tiny whales and sharks and fish, the rainforest would have all kinds of tiny critters, like tigers, snakes, etc! It would be so fun!

There have been several moments that have changed my life permanently.

Maybe when I attempted suicide many times, when I dropped out of highschool, when we moved 7 times in one year, maybe when my brother left. When my dad was gone forever from my life, and I said good riddance, when we moved away, and I started at a new school. Maybe when we started at a new church and I was deeply depressed, maybe when I went to a new youth group and met so many amazing people. Maybe when a really close friend of mine died of cancer. Those have only been a few experiences that have changed my life.

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

He calls you by name everyday, He holds you in His hands, He loves you deeply and personally. He knows everything about you, what makes you happy, what makes you sad, what makes you happy, and what makes you angry. You are written on the palm of His hand, He can't let you go.

He has a specific plan for your life, He planned every aspect of you from the tip of your hair to the bottom of your feet. He intracately designed every nerve in your body. Did you know that He actually knit you together in your mother's womb? The Creator of the universe died for you, He wants a deep friendship with you that will never dissipate. He loves you to the very core of your being, He knows your deepest secret, but He never looks away.

That's enough to make me cry, and trust me, that's hard to do.

Dear Younger Me,

I wanted to let you know that in your later years you will experience a lot of heartache and pain. Physical pain and emotional pain. Many people in your life are going to leave, betray your trust, hurt you and through it all, you’ll feel broken, confused, alone, hurt, and angry. Sometimes, you will even feel like giving up and ending your life.

But, I want to tell you something, keep your eyes on Jesus. You will feel like He has abandoned you you’ll feel like He hates you, and like He wouldn’t care if you died, like He likes to see you suffer, but it’s not true. You have to remember that He loves you, and that He is always holding you in His hands, that He won’t let you stay in darkness forever. He’ll take you out. He’ll give you courage to report your dad, He’ll end your abusive situation, He’ll set you free. He sees you, He loves you. You are loved, He’ll give you a way out.

Another thing: don’t give up on your mom. You may feel like she hates you, and she wants to get rid of you, but she doesn’t. She’s hurting too. She doesn’t know why your relationship is the way it is. It’s not your fault, it’s not her fault. It’s your dad’s fault. He’s been lying to both of you, turning you against each other. Don’t give up. God has a better plan for you that He will fulfill in His time…

Why do you keep asking God for reasons? It won’t take away your tears, it will cause you more grief. You’re going to think that He’s not with you when He doesn’t give you reasons. Just ask Him to stay with you, and show you that He’s there, and that He will never leave you.

Also, don’t believe the lies that your dad is telling you. No dad does that to his kid, especially not to his daughter who trusts him. Don’t believe him. Don’t believe him when he says he’s going to stop. Go nowhere with him alone, don’t trust him. Don’t trust him, don’t trust him. I can’t stress that enough.

Don’t push your teacher away. She cares more than you know. She does see how you’re struggling, you’re not invisible. She wants to help you, you can trust her. She cares about you. You can trust the other teachers too. They won’t hurt you either. They would NEVER hurt you. They want to help you grow, they won’t cut you down. Trust them.

Don’t do self-harm. It gets you nowhere, even if the intention is suicide. God’s not going to let you do it. He’ll intervene like He did for me. He has a plan for you, and that’s not you committing suicide because of a stupid abusive situation that is hurting you. Even though he’s only abusing you in that way, he’s verbally abusing your mother and physically abusing your brother. He’s going to leave your sister because she’s too little. Don’t do self harm. Instead, support your brother, and your mom. Don’t block them out. Form a band together. Become stronger together.

When your brother leaves just before Christmas, and makes bad choices and you can’t talk to him anymore, don’t give up hope. I don’t know what’s going to happen, I’m still there too. But don’t give up hope. Trust me, you’ll be better off without his abuse too. You’re worth more than that.

Through it all, keep your eyes on Jesus. He won’t leave you. He loves you.

As you approach olderhood,

let me assure you, you are understood.

You may feel as though you’re lost,

but let me tell you, you’re not.

You may feel hated,

but the opposite is true.

You may feel like a failure,

but everyone falls sometimes, you just have to get back up again.

You may feel too far gone,

but let me confide in you, you’re not.

You may feel unseen,

but let me inform you, your Father sees you.

You may feel hopeless,

but let me confess, there’s hope around the corner, just keep looking.

You may feel tired,

but let me declare, there is recovery in Him.

You may feel a lie,

but let me profess the truth.

You may feel bound,

but let me inform you, there is freedom.

I want to tell you as you approach olderhood,

don’t lose sight of who your Creator designed you to be,

don’t lose sight of the truth.

As you approach olderhood,

let me assure you, you are understood.

You may feel as though you’re lost,

but let me tell you, you’re not.

You may feel hated,

but the opposite is true.

You may feel like a failure,

but everyone falls sometimes, you just have to get back up again.

You may feel too far gone,

but let me confide in you, you’re not.

You may feel unseen,

but let me inform you, your Father sees you.

You may feel hopeless,

but let me confess, there’s hope around the corner, just keep looking.

You may feel tired,

but let me declare, there is recovery in Him.

You may feel a lie,

but let me profess the truth.

You may feel bound,

but let me inform you, there is freedom.

I want to tell you as you approach olderhood,

don’t lose sight of who your Creator designed you to be,

don’t lose sight of the truth.

@adin

I have a different viewpoint of the spirit world. In my mind, since I believe in God, and He's a spirit, the He counts.

For this spirit world, God is holding each and every one of us, and He's got a plan for all of us. This Spirit isn't out to harm us, He's out to show people that He loves them. This Spirit isn't out to scare us, He's trying to give us supernatural peace. Peace that surpasses all understanding. He's not out to wish ill upon us, He blesses us with things that we don't deserve, like life. He's not out to kill us, He's offering us eternal life with Him!! He's not trying to hide our God-given purpose, He's revealing it to us. Shamanism and other things aren't from God, those are the Devil's tricks. This whole thing in life is a battle between good and evil. I know that the Good will win because Jesus has already won the battle. He defeated death when He rose after being crucified on the cross. I know that this doesn't sound as exciting as demons and things like that, but this is the Life-Giving Spirit, not the life-taking one. This is the best Spirit, and one day, I'm going to be living with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

I was hurt very deeply by a lot of people. Emotionally by my brother, physically by a relative, and mentally by kids at my school, in my class. I believed that I was not worth anything, I believed that I was alone, I felt abandoned, and that no one loved me. It really hurt. So, I started hurting myself. Cutting, suffocation, bruising, concussions. Because I wanted to fit in, and be loved. It was rough. But there was freedom. It took a while, and it’s still coming. I have long term trauma pain, and it still hurts sometimes, but it is healing. My mind is healing, my heart is healing. It hurts a lot when it first happens, but we got to keep pressing on, and not giving up. I’m still alive and breathing, you’re still alive and breathing, and God still has a plan for your life and for mine. It really hurts right now, but it’s gonna get better.