Highs and lows.

I recently discovered the honest, encouraging blog Life Lived Fully. What caught my attention most was the story behind the blog header, which features two trees – one bare and one in full bloom. Lindsay writes that it was inspired by the thought that good and bad always coexist in life. I’ve been thinking about that a lot. Even when life looks bleak, there’s always some hope to hold on to. Even when life is going exactly the way you want it to, it’s still marred by something. (In a Christian context, we always have our salvation in the darkest times, and we’re always sinful and living in a fallen world even in the best times.)

So not only do I have plenty to be thankful for right now, in the midst of these less-than-ideal times, but also, someday when I have the things I’m hoping for, I’ll still be struggling with something else. I think I prefer to approach life in this balanced way, instead of as a roller coaster where you’re always headed either straight up or straight down. That perspective leaves me constantly bracing for the next drop.