My friend Kati said today, "We dream these amazing dreams for our lives, and often do not expect the pain and sacrifice that comes with those dreams." But pain, sacrifice, and hard work are all necessary to realize the dream. A dream is not real, it is not full without these. We expect that God will make it easy. We expect that our ideals and opinions will hold true in every circumstance. And then comes the circumstance that blows our perceptions out of the water.

When we have to walk out what we have spoken over our lives, there comes an opportunity to see how weak and vulnerable we can be. Then, there is a choice: cut off the circumstance that is causing us hardship or walk through the hardship and see what waits on the other side. If we cut off the circumstance and cut off the people who cause them, is it possible to miss out on something God might have been trying to show us all along? Will walking away keep our hearts in a cycle of regret?

Maybe walking it out is okay. Maybe burning bridges is not always the answer. Maybe God wants us to face fears that have been locked up, keeping us from new relationships and opportunities. Maybe God wants to strengthen our hearts.

I have always believed that beauty is the containment of joy, peace, and abundance. It wasn't until this week that I realized how important pain and sacrifice are to create this beauty. Without pain, without sacrifice, there is no reason to hope. There is no reason to push and no reason to grow. Therefore, our lives require us to take risks. Risks require vulnerability. Beauty does not come easy.

So today, I made the decision to walk out what I needed to walk out. I made the decision to grow instead of cut off my heart in the middle of this experience. God wants to teach me something; He may want to use me to add to another's life. I don't know, I just don't know. But my eyes are on Him. I've asked Him to correct me if I am wrong.

I found freedom today.