Breanna Echols

If you have followed my articles for a while, you have probably heard my opinion that perspective is everything. Well, I’d like to share my perspective on pain.

That little four-letter word is the most important thing to us. It controls mostly everything we do, everything we think, and everything we want to be in life.

Today was one of those tumultuous days. The kids are asleep, and I can finally process my thoughts, and unpack my tired mind.

Belief is such a simple thing, however simple, does not make it easy. I’ve found that faith is often something you have to fight to keep, until the things you’ve been hoping for have started to come into view.

As I sit here drinking my oh so favorite beverage, coffee, on this very early morning, I’m reflecting on what a whirlwind the last few years have been for us.

These are the prayers that overtake my heart and soul for you.

It took me 3 days to tell him how I felt. When I finally did, he explained that he’d felt the same way for quite a while.

Something about me you may not know; for about half of my life, I struggled with self-hatred. I would beat myself up over the smallest things.

Are your words cursing what you’re praying God will bless? Often times we abort the promises of God with our poisonous words, and then we blame Him when we don’t see changes. Or we simply blame the devil for attacking us, when really, it’s our words that opened the gate for destruction.

The smell of delicious breads, various meats, and cobblers came from the rows and rows of chuckwagons and filled the air on that hot, humid April day, as we set up our instruments to play for the wounded warriors project, at Fort Sam Houston deep in the hill country of Texas.

Seeing the good in everything, does NOT come easy. I’ve been through the darkest of seasons in my own mind. And I’ve learned that pain without a purpose is what will destroy you.

As this year is coming to a close, today I find myself caught up in reflection. There were so many good things that happened, and simultaneously some of the worst and most painful times I’ve ever experienced.

Hope is a beautiful thing. Priceless when you think about it, because hope is what keeps us hanging on in difficult times.

I still remember the way the sun was setting through the trees in my backyard, in April of 2018, when my husband, James, told me we had 2 weeks to move. He was a production manager on a pecan orchard in Arizona, and like most farming jobs, this one came with a house.