We all struggle. We all have parts of our life that we hide from the world, convincing ourselves that it is too shameful and too embarrassing to share with others. Day by day, we work harder to cover up these dark crevices of our soul in hopes that this will somehow make us more accepted, more “normal.”

For some of us, this secret struggle is with depression. For others, it’s with alcohol. For others, it’s with cheating in your relationship, or sexual abuse, or eating disorders, or drugs, or childhood trauma, or a past you are not proud of.

Regardless of what you’re battling right now, no matter how big or small, we all are battling something. So what if we taught ourselves to see these struggles as opportunities for connection and healing? As opportunities to see that our broken cracks can be sealed back together with gold if we allow ourselves to honor what we’re going through?

Nobody is perfect, and the more we strive to pretend like we are, the more disconnection and pain we are creating for ourselves. Finding the courage to look at our journey with eyes of grace rather than eyes of judgement and to be honest with ourselves and others in what we are going through will allow us to pursue a path filled with freedom and authenticity. It will allow us to share the rawest parts of who we are with others, in turn assuring both ourselves and them that we are not alone in our personal struggles.

We are all in this together. So please don’t for one minute think that you are the only person dealing with these heavy, burdensome struggles. It will only push you deeper into the depths of self-misery. Remind yourself that without struggle, we cannot propel forwards in life. We are promised struggle in this lifetime, but we are also promised joy. Never forget that.