Pathways Press.com

Written by Karrie Garcia, a contemporary author and life coach. This is an excerpt from her book “Free and Fully Alive.”

Our spirits long for the goodness and intimacy they were created to experience. They long for the wonder of the unknown and the mystery of what could be. Our spirits seem to know something our brains don’t — that we were made for abundant life — but our brains won’t let us engage because of fear of disappointment or failure or rejection. It’s our spirits that keep leading us to the reckless hope of trying again. All it takes to keep going is a willingness to be honest, to invite God into the story, and to allow some trustworthy people to witness your story in a way that enables your heart to be seen and held. Something dynamic and supernatural begins to happen. Life starts to have color. The puzzle pieces of your broken story come together. You are awakened to a God who sees you in the hard and the holy, and you realize you are loved.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. [Psalm 43:5]