"Be strong and courageous..."

In all honesty it's been a rough couple of weeks. In particular, over the past few days my raging hormones have made me quite emotional and hyper-sensitive. I'm already overly-sensitive as it is, and with my period my defensive radar goes a little haywire.

I've been through a lot of drastic changes this year. For the first time in my life I'm living on my own, away from Mom, Sis and everything else familiar. I've recently taken on my newest role as "wife," which is a huge learning process in itself. As I'm adjusting to life in another country, I'm learning to embrace my individuality and to appreciate the life lessons that come out of each difficult moment. Overcoming those hard days makes me stronger as a person, and they cause me to stand even more steadfast in my faith. I've grown so much spiritually and personally during this past year. In spite of the tears and the down days, which in the grand scheme of things are only momentary, I am so thrilled to be where I am. I'm so excited about all that God is doing in my life and where He's leading me.

One of my favorite Biblical passages that I've come across is the first chapter of Joshua. God calls Joshua to the forefront, out from behind Moses' shadow and into the spotlight. He reaffirms to Joshua the same promises that He gave to Moses- that He would be right there with him, through the challenges, the difficult moments and the hard decisions. However, he also required something of Joshua- that he be strong and courageous. Obviously that spoke to the fact that hard times would surely come up. But God gave Joshua a glimpse of the victory road ahead, telling him that by standing strong and holding fast to His promises, he and his people would come out on the winning side.

This passage has spoken volumes to me since I began to study it several months ago. I relate so much to Joshua in the sense that I too have been called out of my comfort zone, having to embrace a brand new reality and take on new challenges. I also know that like Joshua, I have the victory already won by standing tall in my faith, holding fast to all of the promises that God has given me and being strong and courageous every step of the way.