Sometimes strength looks like simply getting through the day.
Sweet friend, can I ask you something?
When was the last time you gave yourself credit for how far you’ve come?
Not how far you still have to go. Not the list of things you haven’t figured out yet. Not the goals you haven’t reached or the prayers that still feel unanswered. But how far you have already come.
Because I have a feeling — if you really stopped and thought about it — you would surprise yourself.
Pull up a chair. Pour yourself something warm. And stay with me for a few minutes today, because this one is straight from my heart to yours. 💛
You’ve Been Through More Than People Know
There are things you’ve carried that nobody ever saw.
The grief you smiled through. The fear you pushed past every single morning. The relationship that broke your heart in ways you still don’t have words for. The financial stress that kept you up at 3 in the morning staring at the ceiling. The health scare. The disappointment. The dream that didn’t work out the way you planned.
You didn’t put it on a billboard. You didn’t make everyone around you feel the weight of it. You just… kept going. You got up. You showed up. You did the next thing and then the thing after that.
Sweet friend, that is not small. That is remarkable.
And I want you to hear this today — every single hard thing you have ever walked through, you walked through. It did not keep you. It did not finish you. Here you are, on the other side of every storm that tried to take you down, reading these words and still breathing and still going.
That matters more than you know. 🤍
What Strength Actually Looks Like
We have such a skewed picture of what strength is supposed to look like, don’t we?
We think it looks like someone who never cries. Someone who has it all together, who never doubts, who strides confidently through every challenge without ever wobbling. Someone who is bold and brave and unshakeable every single day.
But can I tell you what I’ve learned? Real strength — the deep-down, God-given, been-through-the-fire kind of strength — looks a whole lot quieter than that.
Sometimes strength looks like getting out of bed on a morning when everything in you wants to pull the covers back over your head.
Sometimes strength looks like choosing to trust God even when you don’t understand what He’s doing.
Sometimes strength looks like forgiving someone who never said they were sorry.
Sometimes strength looks like asking for help when you’ve always been the one who helps everyone else.
And sometimes — sweet friend, hear me on this — sometimes strength looks like simply getting through the day. 🌿
That counts. Every single time, that counts.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” — Philippians 4:13
You Didn’t Do It Alone
Here’s the thing I really need you to understand today.
Every hard season you’ve survived — every storm you walked through, every dark night that eventually became morning, every moment you weren’t sure how you were going to keep going — you had help.
You had divine help.
God was right there beside you. In the hospital waiting room. In the car when you cried on the way home. In the quiet of your kitchen when you bowed your head and barely had the words to pray. In the middle of the night when the worry felt suffocating and the silence felt too loud.
He was there. Every single time.
And I know sometimes it didn’t feel like it. I know there are seasons where God felt so far away you wondered if He was listening at all. Those seasons are real and they are hard and there is no shame in admitting that faith sometimes feels like walking through fog.
But sweet friend — feeling like He was absent and Him actually being absent are two very different things.
He never left. Not once. Not for a single breath.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” — Deuteronomy 31:6
The Proof Is In Your Story
I want you to do something for me today. I want you to think back — really think back — to the hardest season of your life. The one that felt impossible. The one you weren’t sure you’d get through.
Are you thinking of it?
Now look at where you are today.
You got through it. Maybe not perfectly. Maybe not gracefully. Maybe with a whole lot of tears and prayers and “God I really need you right now” moments along the way. But you got through it.
That is your proof, sweet friend. That is the evidence written right into the pages of your own life that God is faithful, that you are stronger than you think, and that hard seasons do not get the final word over you.
Your story is not finished. The chapter you’re in right now — whether it’s a hard one or a beautiful one or something in between — is not the last one. God is still writing. And if the chapters that came before are any indication of His faithfulness?
Oh, sweet friend. The best is still ahead. 💛
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.” — Psalm 28:7
A Little Pep Talk For Your Heart
Before I let you go today, I just want to say a few things I think you might need to hear.
You are braver than you believe. I know you don’t always feel it, but the evidence of your courage is written all over the life you’ve lived.
You are stronger than you think. Not because you never struggle, but because you keep going even when you do.
You are more loved than you can possibly imagine. By a God who created you on purpose, for a purpose, and who has never once looked away from you.
And you are not alone. Not today, not tomorrow, not in the hard season you might be walking through right now. He is with you. I am cheering for you. And there is a whole community of women right here who understand exactly what it feels like to just be trying to get through the day.
We see you. We’re with you. And we’re so glad you’re here. 🤍
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” — Isaiah 40:29
One More Thing Before You Go 🌿
If this post touched your heart today, would you do something for me? Share it with one person who might need it. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do for someone we love is simply say — “I saw this and thought of you.”
You never know whose day you might turn around with that one small act of kindness.
And come find me over on Instagram @findinglifesmagic — I’d love to connect with you there and hear what God is doing in your life. 💜
For daily faith encouragement just like this, come visit me at findinglifesmagic.net — there’s a fresh blog post waiting for you every single morning. ✨
And if you’re looking for a little something to remind you of how loved and strong you are, stop by my Etsy shop at etsy.com/shop/findinglifesmagic — I create faith-filled gifts and apparel designed to carry these reminders with you every day. 💛
Until tomorrow, sweet friend — go find the magic in your day. 🌿✨
With love always, Marilyn 💜
Sweet friend, I pour my heart into every word I write here because I truly believe God’s magic is woven into the everyday moments of your life — and I want you to feel that every single day.
If today’s post encouraged your heart, I’d love for you to browse my little shop over on Etsy, where every design is created with you in mind. From faith-filled shirts and cozy mugs to hand-poured soy candles and heartfelt gifts — everything is designed to remind you how deeply loved you are. 💛
👉 Shop Finding Life’s Magic on Etsy
And if you’re not already following along on Instagram, come say hello! I’d love to see you over there. 👉 @findinglifesmagic