Eddie Pinero

And oh man, what a beautiful reflection.

What if we stopped praying for the painful circumstances to be taken away and instead asked what he wants us to get out of them?

It's not, please take the storm away.

It's where can I unveil strength amidst the storm I didn't even know I had?

Where is the value dispersed amongst this valley of despair I find myself navigating?

Part of life is understanding that quote-unquote misfortune is unavoidable.

But along with that is understanding that lives are changed and fortunes are made when we are pushed to our max, when we are tired, lonely, scared, defeated, unsure.

See, these are the things that teach us to gather ourselves and rebuild stronger, like muscle breaking down to grow back greater than before.

You can pray to be dropped at the end of a 10-mile run,

But how self-defeating, right?

The substance is the journey.

It's hurting and finding a way to go on.

It's doubting whether you can hit your target and learning to trust yourself.

It's running by people on the beach, beer in hand, relaxing, and knowing that in this moment you chose to be different.

How insane to pray those things away.

They are the miracles.

It's asking to skip the movie and arrive at the credits.

To skip the book and wake up when the story is resolved and it's time to place it back on the shelf.

Our power is derived from our pain, our discomfort.

So perhaps when going through it, we remind ourselves what it will all come to mean.