Every Day Is a New Beginning
What if each morning were more than just a fresh start?
What if it were a divine invitation to embrace the day the Lord has made?
The Broken & Beauty-full blog is all about sharing stories that encourage us to live out our faith, not just some of the time, but all of the time.
Not only the beautiful days, but also the hard ones.
Not just when needed, but during the complicated, the messy, the ordinary.
How beautiful it would be to wholeheartedly proclaim each day, “This is the day the Lord has made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
How beautiful it would be to have that faith to know without doubt that God is present and we have all we need to rejoice in it. To see God is in us and all around us. To know without doubt that I can trust God with all of it: the joyful, the mundane, and even the heartbreaking.
Yet, Let’s Be Honest...
That kind of faith sounds beautiful on paper, doesn’t it, maybe even poetic.
But in real life? It can feel impossible and, at times, naïve to think you can truly approach each day and life in that way. My life? This day? Rejoice in all that is happening right here, right now?
Curious what you think?
Is living a life of complete faith unrealistic, too hard? Or can that only be pulled off by Godly saints or superheroes, or individuals who have removed themselves from society? Impossible for the ‘typical’ person like you and me?
On the one hand, it all sounds great, but in reality, on the other hand, most days, it’s a matter of more or less, never completely.
Friends, if any of that stirs something up in you, you’re not alone. I used to contemplate similar thoughts for years, hoping I was juggling life and showing up with ‘enough’ faith. Rejoicing ‘enough’.
In the five years of speaking and teaching faith-filled insights and practices, I have heard similar stories expressed by others. Ye, but… If only…
Being faith-filled can easily be interpreted as aiming to be flawless: always smiling, always trusting, always having the right words and the right prayers. Projecting the perfect side of our life.
And then life happens… and we aren’t smiling! Life feels rather sh&%$#y.
The Hidden Lie
For decades, definitely from my early 30s until late 50s, I focused on seeing each day as a new day and really wanting to do my best to live a faith-filled life.
I knew the Lord was trustworthy; it was other people or myself that I didn’t trust. My intentions were to stay positive and focus on doing the right thing to the best of my ability. Hoping that would lead to a good life and ultimately be pleasing to the Lord.
On the one hand, that line of thinking was better than having no faith and no trust and going blindly into each day. Yet today, and definitely for the past five years, I approach each day quite differently.
It is very clear to me now that my old way of thinking only shines a light on one side of life. It filters out so much of what is really happening, and hear me on this… our life isn’t meant to be lived in filtered light.
It was about six years ago that I became committed to welcoming and embracing more of the brokenness happening in life, every single day. I stopped ignoring the problems, stressing to fix all of them myself, or just praying and hoping God would just take it away. I accounted for it as part of the gratitude in my life.
Little by little, I stopped running from the brokenness. And in that surrender, I began to live with more freedom, more alignment—inside and out. My faith deepened. Love grew stronger. All because I began to see what had been true all along: God was always there, patiently waiting to meet every part of me—the good, the bad, and even the pieces I tried to hide. His light touched it all.
In all my brokenness, life grew more beauty-full.
The world (and the enemy) want nothing more than for us to believe that living a faith-filled life is just too hard, too restricting, too idealistic, or too unreasonable for someone like us… a broken whisper tells us to go ahead and keep trying to be that person you are not, continue being
Doubtful. Unrealistic. Overwhelmed. Striving.
Typical enemy tactics.
The little nudges:
“It’s too late.”
“Who do you think you are?”
“You’re not holy enough… but keep trying.”
“You’ll never get this right… but keep trying.”
And maybe the most disheartening one: “What’s the point?”
All lies … A faith-filled life is not only possible, it’s simple, and a love-ly way to live.
With every fiber of my being, I can say:
I can’t imagine living any other way.
A New Beginning - Every Morning
God’s Word reminds us that today is enough.
Not to worry about yesterday or tomorrow. Not next week. Stay fully present today.
“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” —Psalm 118:24
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” —Lamentations 3:22–23
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” —Matthew 6:34
“Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.—Hebrews 3:13
Today is where faith begins and grows.
Today is where healing happens.
Today is where you can walk and talk with God.
Today is where your faith and desires can merge and allow you to take the next step.
Come as you are, Today.
After all, every reflection has a source—and I believe we have in us and all around us a Source that is full of grace, truth, and beauty… even when life feels broken.
Today’s reflection…
What do I typically feel when I wake up each morning - hopeful, rushed, heavy, distracted? What might that feeling be revealing about where I’m placing my focus?
How do I respond to the idea that this day, just as it is, is a divine invitation from God? Am I open to seeing today through that lens?
What parts of my life or heart do I tend to filter or hide - especially from God? What would it look like to bring them into His light?
Do I believe that God is with me in both the beauty and the brokenness of my story? Why or why not?
Have I been measuring my faith by how strong or ‘put together’ I appear to others? What would it mean to live my faith out in a more honest, unfiltered way?
How have I been taught to handle hardship - run from it, fix it, hide it, or embrace it? How does God invite me to respond differently?
What quiet lies or whispers have I been listening to that keep me striving, doubting, or shutting down? Can I name them and replace them with God’s truth?
What would change in my life if I truly embraced the belief: “Today is enough”?
What is one area of my life where I long to experience God’s mercy anew this morning?
How can I take one small, faith-filled step today to welcome God more fully into my ordinary moments?
Closing Thoughts for Today…
From My Heart to Yours
Hi, I’m Denise. I share these weekly reflections so that more of us can face and embrace the brokenness in our lives - because I truly believe, as I shared in the Welcome post, that when we learn to walk through the broken with God’s love, life becomes more beautiful… and more purposeful.
When we stop hiding the hard stuff and instead hold it up to the light of God’s grace, something sacred happens. We grow. We heal. We become stronger. We become wiser. And over time, that mess you’re walking through? It becomes a message - one that might carry someone else through their storm.
So please, don’t give up.
I pray for every one of you who reads these words. And I can’t help but wonder what might happen in this world if more of us allowed our brokenness to become holy ground for growth. A space for God’s goodness to rise up and lead us forward.
Seriously—can you imagine the beauty?
Not in spite of the broken…
…but because of it?
That thought continues to light me up every single day.
Until next time,
With love always,
Denise
Have you walked through something broken and come out holding beauty in your hands? I’d love to hear your story. Click here to message me.
You never know—your honest and faith-filled journey could be the very hope someone else has been praying for.
And if today’s post encouraged you, please share it with someone you love. Let’s keep the light moving forward.
