There is only one day I have ever truly lived.

Not because I chose it. Not because it aligned with my desires. Not because it brought triumph or peace or even clarity.

But because it was the only day that existed.And that day—this day—is always now.

This is the first claim:Today is the best day of my lifenot because it is pleasurable, successful, or redemptive—but because it is real.

This claim, rightly understood, is not motivational.It is ontological.

It is not about gratitude, though gratitude may rise.It is not about optimism, though joy may follow.It is about the nature of being, the structure of time, and the existential permission to inhabit what is.

The Ontological Priority of the Present

Time, as we experience it, is a construct of consciousness.The past no longer exists. The future has not yet come.Both live only in the mind—memory and anticipation.

What remains?Only this present moment.Not the second, not the minute, but the experience of now.

It is the only condition under which life occurs.Every breath I have ever taken was taken in the now.Every decision. Every failure. Every touch. Every sorrow.

All of them occurred under the singular canopy of presence.This means that the present moment is not just real.It is the only reality I have.

Therefore, if I wish to name the “best” day of my life,it can never be yesterday—it is gone.It can never be tomorrow—it is not yet.It can only be today, for it alone is mine.

To acknowledge this is not to deny memory or future planning.It is to reorient myself to the truth that existence is always immediate.And thus—so is meaning.

The Collapse of Comparison

“Best” is typically a comparative term.We say “best” to imply “better than others.”But how can I compare what is with what no longer exists or does not yet exist?

If I believe today is worse than yesterday, I am comparing a living reality with a memory—which means I am no longer living.If I believe tomorrow will be better than today,I place my hope in fantasy and abandon the only space that can create change.

Comparison, in this way, becomes an instrument of exile.It removes me from now, and with it, from truth.

So when I say:“Today is the best day of my life,”

I am not comparing today with any other day.I am declaring that today is the only day.And the only day is necessarily the best.

Best not by achievement.Best not by emotion.Best by virtue of existence itself.

The Inclusion of Suffering

This is the most radical claim embedded in the mantra:Even on the days I suffer,even in grief, confusion, loneliness, fear—today remains the best day of my life.

Why?Because it is real.

And I would rather live in pain than fantasize in fiction.I would rather feel loss in the real world than experience peace in a dream.I would rather be fully present in devastation than absent in delight.

To say today is the best day is not to deny pain.It is to include it.

To acknowledge that pain, too, belongs.That suffering, too, is sacred—not because it is desired, but because it is true.

And what is “best” if not the moment that demands nothing but our presence,asks nothing but our honesty, and offers nothing but the invitation to be here?

The Rejection of Elsewhere

To declare today as best is to commit to presence.And that commitment is a death sentence for every illusion that tells us joy is elsewhere.

We often live as though happiness is just over the next hill:When I get the job.When the pain stops.When the relationship heals.When I become more.

But happiness built on elsewheres is not happiness.It is a mirage—ever present, never grasped.It is a psychological deferral system for joy.

When I say “today is the best day of my life,” I am putting an end to the search.Not because I have found something perfect.But because I have stopped looking away from what is.

The End of Becoming

Becoming is the great mythology of modern life.We are told to improve,

There is a kind of prison you can’t see until you stop trying to be good.

It doesn’t have bars or locks or guards, just subtle agreements—signed with silence, compromise, and the aching need to be seen as “enough.” We grow up learning to adapt, to shrink, to survive. And at some point, we mistake survival for maturity. We confuse compliance with wisdom. We call our numbness peace.

But something deeper always knows.

You feel it in quiet moments, when the noise fades. When no one’s looking. When the mask itches and the script fails. When you whisper to yourself, “There has to be more than this.”

And there is.

But freedom doesn’t feel like what we were told. It doesn’t feel easy or safe. It doesn’t feel like comfort. It feels like letting go of every identity that was built to survive and finally reaching for what was meant to live. Freedom isn’t soft. It doesn’t coddle your fear. It drags you into confrontation with every lie that ever told you to play small.

It’s not a question of whether you want freedom.

The real question is: what are you still clinging to because it once kept you safe?What stories still whisper, “don’t change, you’ll lose everything”?

Because freedom will cost you those lies.

You can tell how controlled a person is by what they’re afraid to want.

So I’ll ask you this:If you could have your cake and eat it too—what would you choose without hesitation?Not the modest version. Not the responsible, palatable version. The real thing.The one that makes your heart pound, the one you talk yourself out of.

Because control doesn’t always show up in chains.It often shows up in "good decisions," "adult reasoning," and the pressure to make everyone else comfortable. It shows up as the expectation to choose security over soul, duty over design, permission over purpose.

And it has a voice that sounds a lot like your own.

But what if that voice wasn’t yours?

What if it was someone else’s shame, internalized?Someone else’s limitation, disguised as wisdom?Someone else’s fear, inherited and rehearsed until it felt like your own?

We don’t just need to examine what we want.We need to ask, why don’t I feel safe wanting this?Because desire is never the enemy—it’s a compass.

You’re not lost.You’re layered.

Layered under the things you were told to be.The roles you thought would earn you love.The versions of you that kept the peace.The survival scripts that no longer fit.

And now you’re here, at the edge.The real question is: What would you choose tomorrow if fear didn’t get a vote?If guilt couldn’t speak.If nobody else’s opinion could reach you.

Now pause.Feel what just rose in you. The resistance. The ache. The flicker of “could I really?”That’s the threshold. Don’t run from it—run through it.

Control hides in the places you justify your silence.

It hides in the things you call “not a big deal,” even though they eat you from the inside.It hides in the habits you use to numb.It hides in the relationships where you’re always performing and never seen.

So stop and ask:Who do you wish could see you more clearly than they do?And more than that—what are you afraid they’ll find if they truly look?

Because part of you is convinced that being seen means being left.

But it’s the hiding that keeps you lonely.

Let me be clear: freedom is not a vibe. It’s a decision.And it requires fleeing from anything that tries to mold you into something you’re not.You do not reason with control. You do not appease it. You expose it.And then you run—not in fear, but in the full sprint of recognition.

You run from the smile that says “you’re too much.”You run from the advice that shrinks your soul.You run from the job that demands your compliance but never rewards your brilliance.You run from the false peace of being liked.

And you run toward something deeper.

Toward the people who make you feel like you can exhale.Who lets you breathe all the way into your belly?

The Weight of Need & The Freedom of Resonance

There is something in us that pulls toward others—not just toward connection, but toward attachment, toward something we can hold, something that feels like proof that we belong. We search for people who will affirm us, complete us, quiet the restless questions in our minds. And yet, the deeper we lean into this pursuit, the more it eludes us.

Need disguises itself as love, as friendship, as deep connection. It whispers that closeness is measured by dependency, that the truest bonds are the ones we cannot live without. It tells us that if we do not need someone—or if they do not need us—we must not be truly connected at all.

But this is a lie.

Need is not connection. It is captivity.

When we enter into relationships—any relationship—from a place of need, we are not standing in presence. We are reaching, grasping, leaning toward someone else in the hope that they will supply something missing in us. We are not engaging; we are consuming. We are not relating; we are securing.

And in doing so, we do not reveal ourselves. We reveal only the version of ourselves that ensures we will not be left behind.

The Weight of Need

Need is weighty. It clings. It anchors. It demands.

It makes us shape our words carefully, measuring our thoughts before they cross our lips, wondering if we will still be chosen if we are fully known. It makes us second-guess silence, fill spaces with pleasantries, perform instead of simply existing.

It does not ask, Who am I in this connection? It asks, Who do I need to be in order to keep this connection?

And so we shrink. We shift. We play roles we do not even realize we have stepped into. Not because we intend to, not because we mean to be dishonest, but because need makes us afraid. Afraid to lose. Afraid to be alone. Afraid that without this person, this approval, this presence—we might not be enough on our own.

But the truth? We were never meant to enter relationships as fractions of ourselves. We were never meant to mold, to contort, to filter out parts of who we are just to hold onto someone who will not hold us as we stand.

And yet, when we need, we do just that.

The Freedom of Resonance

Resonance is different.

It is not a demand, not a transaction, not an unconscious effort to be held in place. It is the meeting of two who are whole within themselves. It is presence without possession, closeness without confinement.

Resonance does not say, Stay so I won’t be alone.Resonance says, Stand with me so we may amplify one another.

Resonance does not say, Complete me.Resonance says, Meet me.

To resonate with another is not to need them for our survival. It is to step fully into our own presence, into our own essence, and meet them there. It is to be free in the connection, because what keeps us there is not fear, but alignment.

And yet, so many of us are missing this. So many of us are choosing need over resonance, mistaking obligation for love, mistaking attachment for depth. And in doing so, we lose something far greater than a single relationship—we lose the chance to stand in our own presence, to create with clarity, to engage with deeper meaning.

The Shift from Need to Resonance

So what happens when we stop needing and start resonating?

We no longer reach for connection like a starving man reaching for bread. We no longer rely on others to fill our silence—we step into it ourselves. We no longer fear solitude—we see it as the foundation for true connection. We no longer cling to people who do not align with us—we let them go, trusting that those who truly see us, who vibrate at the same frequency, will remain.

And in doing so, we find the relationships that were always meant for us.Not because they complete us, but because they expand us.

Resonance does not bind—it amplifies. It does not ask for proof—it recognizes. It does not shrink to fit—it stretches into fullness.

Momentum is not the problem. It never was. I have always known how to generate force, how to translate thought into action, how to press forward when everything in me wanted to retreat. My capacity for movement has never been in question. But there comes a point where movement itself must be examined—where the momentum that once felt like power begins to feel like compulsion. Where the force that has carried me forward no longer feels like a choice, but an inevitability.

I used to believe that overcoming meant pushing harder, proving more, building higher. That if I ran fast enough, produced enough, achieved enough, I would eventually escape the thing chasing me. But the irony of running from something is that the act of running confirms its pursuit. I was not moving forward, I was being propelled by the very thing I sought to leave behind.

When movement is fueled by fear, by lack, by the desperate need to prove something, it does not matter how far we go. We are still tethered to what we are trying to escape. And the faster we run, the tighter the tether pulls.

The Trap of Using the Obstacle to Overcome It

This is where most people stay trapped. They mistake their ability to outwork fear as proof that they have conquered it. But using the thing an obstacle created to try and escape the obstacle itself is a closed loop.

If I fear failure and that fear turns me into the hardest worker in the room, my success is not a sign that I have beaten failure—it is a sign that I am still ruled by it. If I feel unworthy and overproduce to compensate, I have not made myself whole—I have only built my value on a currency that will always demand more. If I fear rejection and shape myself into what others need, I have not secured belonging—I have ensured that my worth remains dependent on external approval.

It looks like strength. It looks like progress. But it is a house built on shifting sand. You cannot escape unworthiness by proving your worth. You cannot outrun fear by making yourself invincible. You cannot use control to create freedom.

And so, at some point, the only way forward is to stop.

Sitting in the Absence

Stopping is not easy. It strips away the distraction of movement and forces you to sit with what remains. If my productivity is no longer proving my worth, then what is left? If my control is no longer manufacturing security, then do I remain safe? If I stop chasing validation, does my existence still hold weight?

This is why most people never stop. The silence is unbearable. The stillness is suffocating. Because when we remove the mechanism we have always used to manage fear, we are left with the raw truth of whether or not that fear was ever real.

Would I still move if I were not afraid? Would I still create if I were not trying to prove something? Would I still fight if I were not avoiding a deeper surrender?

For the first time, the movement is tested in the absence of the thing that fueled it. And that test is the only thing that can reveal what is truly ours.

What Remains When the Fear is Gone

I had always believed that if I let go of the thing pushing me, the drive itself would disappear. That my momentum was only possible because of the force behind it. But that is not what happened.

The need to prove dissolved. The compulsion to fix fell away. But the momentum—the raw, unforced, undeniable movement—remained. And for the first time, it was mine.

Not an escape. Not a reaction. Not a desperate attempt to secure something I feared I lacked. But a choice. A power no longer shackled to what came before. A movement unburdened by fear.

Because it was never the drive that was broken. It was never the motion that was the problem.

It was just the fuel.

The End of Anxiety: How I Deal with Intensity, Contempt, and Triggers Without Losing Myself

I haven’t felt anxiety in over 670 days. No panic. No self-doubt. No feeling of being overwhelmed by the world’s chaos. And it’s not because life got easier. It’s not because people stopped being difficult. It’s because I found myself.

Once anxiety disappeared, I expected smooth sailing, but that’s not how life works. When you become unshakable, the world doesn’t stop shaking—it just stops shaking you. The biggest challenge wasn’t internal anymore. It was external. It was people.

The intensity of others. Their emotions. Their judgments. Their contempt. The way they projected their own chaos onto me, expecting me to engage, react, defend, or fix. I used to feel triggered by this—by their anger, their passive-aggression, their false accusations, their attempts to drag me into their storms. But I don’t anymore.

Because just as anxiety was never about the external world, neither is being triggered by other people.

Intensity and Contempt Are Not About You

When someone attacks, dismisses, or tries to provoke you, it feels personal. But it isn’t. Their intensity is about them. Their contempt is about them. Their emotions, their stories, their fears, their unmet needs.

It took me years to realize this. Before, when someone challenged me, raised their voice, mocked, dismissed, or belittled, I felt the internal pull to engage. To correct. To prove. To justify. I thought my reaction was about standing my ground. But really, I was being pulled into a cycle of validation-seeking. I was allowing their chaos to dictate my state.

Now? I don’t. Because I know who I am. And when you know who you are, you don’t need to defend yourself to those who don’t.

The Moment You Engage, You Lose

Engaging with hostility is like stepping into quicksand. The more you fight, the deeper you sink. Because intensity thrives on reaction.

Someone attacks you? They don’t want truth. They want control. They want to pull you into their world, make you play by their rules, get you to prove, fight, and struggle. They need your reaction to validate their emotions.

But what happens when you don’t give it?

What happens when someone insults you, and you don’t flinch?What happens when someone pushes for a reaction, and you remain steady?What happens when someone’s anger collides with your stillness instead of your defensiveness?

It dissolves. It has no fuel.

When I learned this, the game changed.

What Triggers Really Reveal

Being triggered is not about the other person. It’s about what’s unresolved inside you.

Think about it. If someone calls you an idiot, and you know beyond a doubt that you’re intelligent, do you get triggered? No. You laugh. You see the absurdity of it. But if you secretly doubt your intelligence, if part of you fears they might be right, their words will hit like a blade.

Triggers are teachers. They show you where you still believe something false about yourself.

So, when I feel the pull—that split-second tension when someone is condescending or combative—I pause. Not to suppress. Not to ignore. But to ask:

What inside me is reacting?

Do I believe what they are saying?

Is this mine to carry?

And almost always, the answer is: It’s not mine.

7 Principles to Master Intensity, Contempt, and Triggers

Freedom from anxiety doesn’t mean the world stops throwing punches. It means you stop stepping into the ring. Here’s how:

1. If It’s Not Yours, Don’t Pick It Up

Other people’s emotions are not your responsibility. Their anger, disappointment, or need for control is theirs. You do not have to carry it. You do not have to fix it. You do not have to react to it.

➡ Ask: Is this mine? If not, let it pass through like wind.

2. Let Silence Do the Heavy Lifting

You don’t have to correct them. You don’t have to defend. You don’t have to engage. Silence is power.

I Am Always Spiritual, But Never Always One Thing

For years, I lived under the weight of an assumption—that to be spiritual, I had to be engaged in something explicitly holy. That my connection to God was strongest when I was in prayer, in study, in silence. But what about the rest of my life? The moments of drive, of exhilaration, of pure, unfiltered being?

Then came the whisper.

"I’m still here."

Not in the expected places. Not in the quiet of morning devotion, nor in the solitude of deep contemplation. But in the middle of motion. In the laughter of my children. In the push of my muscles against resistance. In the sharp focus of strategy, in the pleasure of pursuit.

And suddenly, I understood what had always been true:

I am always spiritual because the Spirit of God is in me.

Not because I am praying. Not because I am reading the Bible. Not because I am in a state of theological reflection.

I am spiritual when I am fully engaged in life—because all of life belongs to Him.

The Work Does Not Define the Identity

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." —Colossians 3:23

I used to believe that my spirituality was tied to my role. That when I was teaching, I was a pastor. When I was coaching, I was a mentor. That my identity was linked to the work I was doing in the moment.

But I am not a pastor when I am cutting the grass. I am not a coach when I am with my wife. I am not a father when I am alone at the shooting range.

I am always me. But I am never always one thing.

Jesus was the Son of God whether He was preaching in the temple, turning over tables, or cooking fish over a fire. He did not cease to be who He was when He was laughing, when He was sleeping, when He was celebrating at a wedding.

The work does not define the identity. The identity defines the work.

When I am cutting the grass, I am not a pastor. I am a man cutting the grass. And that is enough.When I am at the range, I am not a father—unless my children are with me. And that is enough.When I am coaching men, I am not a grasscutter. And that is enough.

I do not have to carry every part of me into every moment.

"To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." —Ecclesiastes 3:1

This is freedom.

The Sacred and the Ordinary Are the Same in Christ

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." —1 Corinthians 10:31

There is no such thing as sacred work and ordinary work. There is only alignment and misalignment with truth.

We have created this false division—one that says prayer is spiritual, but laughter is not. That says fasting is spiritual, but strength is not. That says contemplation is spiritual, but joy is not.

But in Christ, everything is spiritual because I am spiritual.

Jesus did not live a divided life. He attended feasts. He engaged in deep theological debate. He made jokes. He rebuked. He cried. He got tired. He worked with His hands.

And He did it all in perfect communion with the Father.

Why should I live differently?

Why should I believe that I am more connected to God when I am on my knees than when I am fully alive in the moment He has given me?

Did He not create the joy of discovery? The thrill of movement? The satisfaction of mastery? The deep, burning desire to build, to explore, to create?

"For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving." —1 Timothy 4:4

There is no divide between sacred and ordinary. There is only awareness or blindness to the truth that all of life is His.

I Will Not Shrink Myself to Fit a Religious Mold

"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." —Romans 14:17

For too long, I carried a false humility—one that told me I needed to quiet myself, to dim my passion, to be careful not to enjoy things too much.

The End of Anxiety: How Knowing Myself Set Me Free

Anxiety is the chaos of being lost—the fear that arises when you do not trust, love, know, or believe in yourself enough to face, handle, embrace, or overcome an experience, whether real or imagined.

I haven’t felt anxiety in over 660 days. No panic, no racing thoughts, no knots in my stomach, no dread clawing at my chest. It’s not because life suddenly became predictable or easy. It’s not because I mastered some perfect meditation technique or found a way to avoid stress. It’s because I found myself.

Anxiety, for most of my life, was a constant companion. It wasn’t always loud, but it was always there. The fear of making the wrong choice, the uncertainty of whether I was enough, the constant second-guessing, the need for approval, the pressure to meet expectations that weren’t even mine—these were the invisible weights I carried. I didn’t call it anxiety. I just thought it was life. I thought the overthinking, the tension, the exhaustion were normal.

But the truth is, anxiety isn’t natural. It’s not who we are. It’s a symptom, evidence that something inside is misaligned, that we are living outside of ourselves, grasping for certainty in a world that doesn’t offer it. It’s the chaos that comes from being lost, from not trusting, loving, knowing, or believing in who we are enough to face whatever comes without fear.

The day my anxiety ended wasn’t the day my circumstances changed. It was the day I stopped fighting for control and started fighting for clarity.

Anxiety is a Byproduct of Disconnection from Self

Anxiety thrives in the unknown, and nothing is more terrifying than not knowing who you are. Because if you don’t know who you are, how can you trust yourself? How can you make decisions without fear? How can you move through life without being shaken by every challenge, rejection, or moment of uncertainty?

For years, I thought I had to fix my anxiety by fixing the world around me. I believed that if I could just get things right, make the right decisions, surround myself with the right people, avoid mistakes, plan ahead enough, I could finally relax.

But no amount of external control silences an internal war.

The turning point came when I realized my anxiety wasn’t the problem—it was a symptom. It was a signal, not a truth. It wasn’t telling me that I was incapable, unsafe, or at risk. It was telling me that I was misaligned, that I had built an identity on expectations, roles, and fears that weren’t mine.

And so, instead of trying to calm my anxiety, I decided to listen to it.

Peeling Back the Layers of False Identity

I started asking different questions.

Not How do I get rid of this anxiety? but What is it trying to tell me?Not How do I become less afraid? but What am I afraid of losing?Not How do I fix myself? but Who am I, underneath all of this?

And as I peeled back the layers, I saw the truth: Anxiety had never been about the external world. It had always been about the internal disconnect between who I really was and who I had been trying to be.

I had spent years living by rules I didn’t write, holding onto beliefs I never questioned, clinging to roles I thought I had to play. And every bit of that was a weight pressing down, suffocating the real me.

The moment I let go of those false identities, the moment I stopped filtering my choices through fear and external validation, the anxiety disappeared. Not because I learned to manage it, but because I no longer needed it. There was no uncertainty, because I no longer needed the world to tell me who I was.

Anxiety is Not a Battle, It’s a Beacon

Most people try to fight anxiety. They push it down, distract themselves, drown it out with noise, with busyness, with coping mechanisms that offer temporary relief but never real freedom. But anxiety isn’t something to fight. It’s something to listen to. It’s a beacon flashing misalignment, misalignment,

Few phrases hit harder than when the person we love says, “I’m not attracted to you anymore.” It feels like a direct assault on our identity, our value, and the very core of who we are. But in reality, while this statement is deeply painful, it holds within it layers of meaning, about them, about us, and the relationship. Understanding these layers and knowing how to respond with grace, authenticity, and strength is crucial.

What This Statement Really Means

When someone says they’re no longer attracted to you, it’s rarely about the superficial surface of physical appearance alone. Attraction, in its most profound sense, is deeply tied to connection, emotional, intellectual, relational, and physical. When that connection falters, so does attraction. This doesn’t mean you are less worthy or less valuable. It often means that the intimacy, vulnerability, and shared meaning that once bound you together has eroded.

This statement is often an emotional signal rather than a verdict. It may reflect their unmet needs, their struggles with vulnerability, or their projections about their own identity and fulfillment. It might even stem from cultural conditioning, where attraction is reduced to a transactional or purely physical idea rather than a response to genuine connection and intimacy.

It Does Not Define You

The first thing to understand is that this statement does not define you. It doesn’t measure your worth or determine your future. Attraction, like any human emotion, ebbs and flows. What your spouse feels in this moment is not a fixed reality; it’s a snapshot of where you both are emotionally and relationally.

You are not the sum of someone else’s attraction to you. You are a complex, layered individual, capable of immense growth, love, and transformation. To tether your sense of self-worth to the shifting tides of someone else’s feelings is to lose sight of the bigger picture: your identity is rooted in something far deeper than external validation.

These Experiences Are Signals to Grow

As painful as this moment may be, it’s important to recognize it for what it truly is: a signal. This isn’t the end of your worth, your identity, or even your capacity for connection. It’s a spark. It’s a wake-up call that invites you into the freedom of self-discovery and authenticity.

When someone tells you they’re no longer attracted to you, the natural response is to panic, to prove yourself, or to fight against it. But what if this experience isn’t about them at all? What if it’s about you? This moment is not about fixing yourself to fit their desires; it’s about uncovering who you are and stepping into the fullness of your true self.

Think of this as a spark, an ignition point for growth. The pain of their words can be transformed into power if you let it. It’s not about becoming more desirable for them; it’s about becoming more authentic for you. This is the beginning of a journey toward freedom, a journey where you shed the layers of pretense, fear, and external validation and reclaim the essence of who you are.

Becoming Authentic: The Key to True Attraction

This moment—however painful—can serve as a wake-up call. It is an invitation to examine yourself, not through the lens of shame or inadequacy, but through the lens of authenticity. Ask yourself: Are you truly living in alignment with who you are? Have you allowed fear, performance, or cultural expectations to mask your true self? Have you become so consumed with meeting external expectations that you’ve lost sight of your own identity?

True attraction arises when we live authentically. When we shed the layers of performance, fear, and insecurity, we become magnetic—not in a superficial sense, but in a way that reflects genuine connection, vulnerability, and confidence. When we reclaim our authenticity, we offer the world—and our spouse—a version of ourselves that is pure and whole.

If They Don’t Like the Real You, Let Them Go

Forgiveness is a word that carries the weight of a lifetime, doesn’t it? It’s simple to say, but its depth is something that can drown you before it saves you. For years, I misunderstood forgiveness. I thought it was something I did for the benefit of others, a way to release them from the consequences of their actions. What I didn’t see—what I couldn’t see—was how forgiveness was never about them. It was about me. It was about stepping into the fullness of who I am in Christ, the forgiven and free, and learning to walk in that freedom, unchained by the opinions or actions of others.

There was a season when my identity felt wrapped up in the pain I carried. I was hurt deeply, unjustly, by people I trusted—people who should have known me better, loved me better, but instead betrayed me. Their words tore at my character, reshaping how others saw me. But perhaps the hardest part wasn’t the betrayal itself. It was the fact that they painted me as someone I was not, and no matter how much I wanted to prove them wrong, their opinions hung in the air, out of my reach, like an unwelcome shadow.

I carried their words with me, replaying their accusations and slights in my mind as if revisiting them could undo the damage. I thought if I could fix their perception of me, I could heal. But the truth is, their opinions were never mine to control. And holding on to their offenses didn’t protect me—it imprisoned me.

The Weight of Injustice

Unforgiveness is heavy. It’s not a weight you hold in your hands—it’s one you carry in your soul. It wraps itself around your thoughts, your relationships, even your faith. For years, I thought my bitterness was justified. After all, I was the victim, wasn’t I? I told myself I was protecting my heart by keeping my guard up, but in reality, I was reinforcing the walls of a prison I didn’t even realize I was building.

Spiritually, I struggled with this. I knew I was supposed to forgive. The Bible is clear: “Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” But the words felt like a burden, a standard I couldn’t meet. How could I forgive when the wound was so deep and the offender so unrepentant?

It wasn’t until I truly reflected on my identity in Christ that the walls began to crack. I am forgiven. I am free. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. These aren’t just words—they’re a reality. If Jesus had forgiven me completely, how could I hold on to someone else’s offense? That realization didn’t erase the pain, but it gave me a reason to lay down the weight I had been carrying.

Wanting to Be Seen

The hardest part, though, wasn’t just letting go of the hurt. It was letting go of the need for vindication. I wanted people to see me—not as the person I was made out to be, but as who I truly am. I wanted them to see the love in my heart, the integrity of my character, the person I knew myself to be.

But here’s the truth I had to accept: their opinion of me was none of my business. It didn’t matter if they never saw the truth, if they never admitted they were wrong, or if they never asked for forgiveness. Their validation wasn’t what defined me. God’s love for me did.

The Turning Point

The moment of clarity came when I realized my bitterness wasn’t affecting them—it was affecting me. They had moved on with their lives, while I was stuck, replaying their words and actions like a broken record. I was holding myself hostage, reliving a story they had long forgotten.

I sat with God one night and admitted something I hadn’t wanted to face: I didn’t want to forgive. I wanted justice. I wanted vindication. But deep down, I also wanted freedom. And so, I prayed the most honest prayer I could muster: “God, help me want to forgive. Help me see this as You do.”

The Process of Healing

Forgiveness wasn’t immediate. It came slowly, in layers. It started with acknowledging the hurt. Not minimizing it. Not brushing it aside. Just letting it be real. I wrote down what had happened,

Testing Peace and Rest: Where Authenticity Takes Root

Peace is a strange thing when you first find it. It feels almost too good, like something you didn’t earn or don’t quite trust yet. It sneaks in quietly as you start peeling back the layers, discovering who you are underneath everything the world told you to be. And then, out of nowhere, your mind goes: Wait, is this okay? I’ve never been here before. What if it’s not real?

That moment when you’re tempted to question the peace you’ve found isn’t a sign you’re failing. It’s a sign you’re waking up. Testing peace isn’t about rejecting it; it’s about making sure it’s real. Because true peace doesn’t just happen on the surface, it takes root deep in your core, where it can’t be shaken by fear, pressure, or noise.

Why Testing Peace Matters

Think of peace as something alive, like a seed that starts small but can grow into something unshakable if you give it the right care. Testing it doesn’t mean you don’t trust it; it’s how you strengthen it. Testing asks the hard questions: Does this peace come from who I truly am, or is it just another layer of performance? Can it hold up under stress, or does it disappear the second things get messy?

This isn’t about being skeptical of yourself; it’s about knowing yourself. Peace that’s rooted in your core values will hold steady. Peace that’s built on a façade will crumble the second life tests it. And that’s okay, every test teaches you more about where the real you begins and the false you ends.

Here’s how you can test it:

Challenge It: Put your peace in situations where it might not come easily. Does it stay with you when you face discomfort or uncertainty?

Question It: Ask yourself if this peace feels true to your core, or if it depends on something external to exist.

Observe It: Pay attention to how your peace interacts with tension or adversity. Does it guide you, or does it retreat?

Testing isn’t an attack on your peace. It’s like checking a foundation to make sure it can handle the weight of the life you’re building.

Resting in Peace (Literally)

Here’s the other side of the coin: Peace doesn’t just get stronger when you test it, it grows when you rest in it.

But resting is hard. If you’re used to being driven by fear, achievement, or other people’s opinions, stillness can feel like losing control.

It’s not.

Resting is where the work gets done without you having to do anything. It’s where your identity starts to feel less like something you have to defend and more like something you just live.

Here’s how you rest in your peace:

Make Room for It: Set aside time to just be. No distractions, no to-do lists. Just sit with yourself and let the quiet settle in.

Face the Discomfort: If peace makes you uneasy, that’s okay. Let those feelings come up and look at them with curiosity. They’re not your enemy, they’re your teacher.

Let It Be Enough: Stop trying to prove your peace is real. It doesn’t need validation. You don’t need validation. Let the quiet be enough.

Resting in peace isn’t about doing nothing; it’s about letting go of the need to control. It’s choosing to believe that who you are is already enough, even if you’re still figuring it all out.

How Testing and Resting Work Together

Testing and resting aren’t opposites, they’re partners. Testing peace helps you trust it. Resting in peace helps it grow. Together, they create a rhythm that keeps you grounded as you navigate this journey of discovering your true self. One keeps you honest; the other keeps you whole.

The beauty of peace is that it’s both the root and the fruit. It’s where everything starts, and it’s what you get to experience as you live in alignment with your core. So, test it when you need to. Rest in it as often as you can. And let it become the steady presence that carries you forward.