Have you ever gone through a season of life that was especially difficult?

Maybe you've lost someone you love dearly, and you are walking the road of grief.

Maybe you're facing a frightening illness in your own life or walking that road with a friend or family member.

Maybe you're trying to juggle a career and a family.

Maybe you're trying to decide "what's next" in life.

Maybe everything is going great in your life, but you still feel a sense of unrest and can't figure out what to do next.

Or maybe it's something totally different and as you read all these possibilities you are thinking,

"No one would even understand what I'm going through right now if I said it out loud."

Whatever the case, I want you to know this for sure:

YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

You're not alone in a very earthly sense, because others are struggling too.

And you're not alone in a spiritual sense, because God walks right alongside you with every heavy, uncertain step.

My daily Bible reading this morning was pretty much the genealogical records of the Israelite nation.

Other than a few personal comments  from time to time about one of the descendants,

I read pages and pages of "_________the son of_________" or "_________the daughter of__________."

I thought about skipping these pages.

I couldn't pronounce most of them anyway,

but I decided to push through for one reason and one reason alone.

Each of these names belonged to someone who lived and walked and breathed;

and even if they'll never know I read their names,

I believe they mattered.

And I believe they struggled through life and somehow made a difference.

Reading every name was powerful for me this morning,

because as I read each name I thought of my own family.

I thought of my friends.

I thought of all of you read my blog.

I wondered what might have said if it had been our names listed.

I wondered which struggles from our lives would have made history and which struggles would have silently been put to rest with the passing of time.

There's something very humbling about reading a chronological record and realizing that many, many things we do, think, and feel today will be forgotten over time.

Knowing this, I have to make a purposeful decision to create a life that leaves a legacy not in what I do or say but in how I make a difference in the next generation.

Yes, life is hard.

But what if the lasting result of handling hard times isn't about me but about how it affects those who follow me.

What if your hard times weren't about you but about everyone around you who watches you walk through them with God?

Today, I have a lot on my mind.

You probably do too.

Let's hand it everything over to God and allow Him to work in the ways only He can.

I love you all so much.

Thank you for all of the emails, Facebook messages, and posts here about ideas for Olivia's diet.

I have so much to learn.