How to Begin Believing That Goodness Is for You
How could my young heart trust when life was relentlessly unraveling at the seams? Little girls need safety, security, and stability, which were the very things stripped from me as a child. Divorce was hard on my young, sensitive heart.
As I grew older with life’s twists, turns, and hardships, gloom settled deep within me, crowding out goodness. I was convinced everyone else had a better life than I did. Melancholy and pessimism were close friends.
Was sadness my destiny?
When Goodness Felt Borrowed
I remember catching glimpses of beauty and goodness in my childhood. Those moments felt beautiful but borrowed, offering hope for a life I didn’t believe was possible for me. Gifts as fleeting as a vanishing sunset. They were reserved for the worthy, the whole, and the well-loved.
I grieved those moments when God touched my life, even before they had passed. I believed beauty and goodness were not a reality I could hold onto, trust, or call my own. I unknowingly set out to sabotage the beauty God offered me. This sabotage reinforced my belief that everyone had a better life than me.
Tired of my internal struggle, I was desperate to see differently, so I asked God to open my heart and mind. Little by little, I began questioning the lie that I was doomed to the negative picture I had created in my mind. Slowly, my eyes widened. It was dim, but there was hope.
Learning to Notice God’s Gifts
I began jotting notes in my journal over twenty years ago as if my life depended on it. My entries tracked God’s goodness. Journaling helped me acknowledge the gifts right in front of me. With this practice, I fought back against the sabotage voices in my head with the truth. I had no idea where the journey would take me. Some days, I wrote a few things. Some days, I wrote a lot. Some days, I didn’t write because life was a whirlwind and I could barely find my footing. Yet, I’ve always returned to my gratitude journal because of the mini miracles that marveled my normally melancholic personality.
Whether I gave thanks for something significant or tiny did not matter—I wrote it all. A 2003 journal reminds me of my gratitude list: “Good books, inspiring people, early mornings, prayer, exercise, flowers in a jar, giggles from my children.” I can’t imagine how many times I’ve written some version of the same entry over the years. Some things are just worth repeating. As I journeyed along the path of gratitude, I realized a grateful heart isn’t reserved for the good life. Even when life was hard, I was challenged to look, notice, and linger over beauty and goodness.
Gratitude taught me joy even in challenging and broken situations, revealing the lies I so readily clung to. It does not mean life is easy or problem-free. It simply opens the eyes and heart to catch beauty and goodness where I might usually miss it. It revealed that God is intimately involved in life’s daily messes and hardships. Gratitude is like a net for catching His blessings.
I once believed beauty and goodness belonged to other people. Gratitude did not erase the hard parts of my story, but it helped me see that God‘s goodness was present in mine, too—even in the life of that little girl who longed to feel safe.
One Small Step Toward Gratitude
Friend, grab a journal, an old notebook, or even scrap paper. Amid the hurry today, jot down one thing you are grateful for. Even if life is hard, what’s one beautiful or good thing you noticed?
Meet Sarah Green
Sarah Green is from Wyoming and has been happily married for nearly 28 years. She is a proud mom to six children, two daughters-in-law, a son-in-law, and Mimi to three beautiful grandchildren.
Early mornings are her sacred space—journaling, reflecting on Scripture, and getting her steps in with her trusty tennis shoes. With a heart for encouraging women, Sarah is passionate about helping them invest in themselves in simple, sustainable ways—even if it’s just one small step at a time.
Having run multiple marathons, she’s learned that lasting growth isn’t built in big, dramatic moments, but through steady, faithful steps over time. That same rhythm shapes how she approaches faith, family, food, and fitness.
Her guiding mottos have always been, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” and “Just do it.”
Whether she’s walking, hiking, skiing, spending time at her family’s cabin in the mountains, or running kids around, Sarah is always moving—physically and spiritually—trusting that God is at work in every step.
Where to find her . . .
Begin Within is a series to inspire a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only your own life, but the lives of your neighbors as well. Gratitude is a theme we talk about often around here because it ties so closely into other missional living rhythms. Practicing gratitude reminds to keep our hearts soft and expectant and our eyes open. Therefore, the more we embrace gratitude, the easier it becomes to truly see our neighbors and where we can join what God is already doing in our neighborhoods.
If you would like to contribute to Begin Within, you can find the submission guidelines here.
twyla
Twyla Franz is a relentless believer in direction over pace, and a proponent of ripple-effect living. A blueberry tea drinker, sourdough bread baker, minimalist wanna-be, chalk painter, mom of three, and wife to her first and forever. She plays worship songs loud and on repeat, and numbers her thanks to remember gratitude is a before, not an after. As an introvert who now has a village of neighbors, she believes a meaningful life with the people right in front of you and God spilling into your relationships is possible.
