The Hopewell House

A R R O W

It can only be shot by being pulled backward. 

When life drags you back with its difficulties, it simply means it's going to launch you into something much greater. 

Stay focused.

Aim toward your goals.

A friend of mine posted something similar to this the other day on Instagram.

For some reason it just hit home with me.

These last few years have been hard to say the least.

I've felt at times like I'm pushed to my absolute limits.

But then,

This similar icon, this simple statement.

It just seems to makes sense.

Last night, I got back into doing a nightly devotion.

I realized I haven't really done one of those in a really long time.

Maybe it's because I was feeling so pressured with deadlines,

Or maybe I was just feeling overwhelmed or maybe just apathetic.

I don't know really but regardless, I decided to start this 30 day devotional challenge to help push me out of this rut I've been in lately. 

Last night I read an entry on the importance of having apparent symbols within our lives, simple reminders to serve as tools that help keep us grounded.

As I thought on the idea of having visual symbols to represent parts of my life,

I kept thinking about the arrow.

That not only is it a representation of going through things to accomplish desired goals, but also the basic idea of constantly having to move forward.

I really suck at letting go of things.

I work to forgive and move on, but sometimes there are things in my life I just struggle to let go... so I guess I kind of suck at moving past difficulty.

I say I do, I try to do, but my controlling alter ego is reallllllly bad at it.

I chose an arrow because I need that constant reminder that I need to move forward... I need to move past the heartache, the hurt, the pain, the grief, the hard times... All these things will never get me towards my goals unless I move past my own emotional state.

I just want to keep moving forward.

So last night I drew an arrow on my arm.

I wanted to visualize where I want to be, not where I am.

It's funny how God works when we let him.

After drawing that arrow on my arm, the next morning I received an email from a friend.

Without going into much detail, it was a moment of healing for us both and a chance to recreate a friendship that had been lost.

From her letter, I was finally learning  to let go of years of bitterness and hurt.

Moving from the past and moving forward towards far better thing.

It's so funny that this particular email came at the specific time it did...

I guess it's a reminder that when we let God have complete control of our lives, he's going to bring beautiful things into the messes we have created.

He can move us past our troubles, hurts, and pains.

He can bring healing to a broken state.

We just have to let go and start moving forward.