Scribed In Light

Tina Campbell | Scribed In Light

“Gee whiz, mister…with all this manure, there’s bound to be a pony in here somewhere!”

I heard this story years ago. A boy, knee-deep in horse manure, joyfully shoveling like he was uncovering buried treasure. A passerby, stunned by the boy’s cheerfulness amidst the stink and mess, finally asks, ” Why on earth are you so happy?”

The boy grins wide and says, ” Well, with this much manure there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!”

I’ll admit, the first time I heard it, I laughed out loud. But the older I’ve gotten, the deeper that little tale has sunk into my bones.

Because let’s be honest…Life is often just like that.

We all have seasons where we find ourselves wading through the thick of it – storms we didn’t see coming, stress we didn’t sign up for, trauma that seems to shatter everything we thought was solid.

We brace ourselves when we see the dark clouds rolling in. We try to duck, cover, and pray it passes quickly. We cry out, “Why me?” We question, “How long?” We wonder if we’ll ever feel steady again.

But here’s something I’ve come to believe with every fiber of my spirit:

Some things you can only learn in the middle of your storm.

Not after.

Not before.

In it.

Because buried inside the chaos, the mess, the ache of what we think will break us…are treasures we’d never find any other way.

We find grit.

we find grace.

We find the kind of wisdom that isn’t taught in books – it’s forged in fire.

We discover courage we didn’t know we had, compassion we didn’t know we’d need, and strength we didn’t know existed within us.

Storms may not be invited, but sometimes they’re exactly what life uses to strip us down, soften us up, and rebuild us stronger and truer than before.

Sometimes – like that boy in the barn – we’re handed a shovel instead of an answer.

If we keep digging…

If we keep believing…

If we hold onto the hope that there’s something beautiful beneath all the mess…

Then one day, we just might discover our pony.

As C.S. Lewis once said, “It is not the load that breaks you, it’s the way you carry it.”

My friend, if you’re still standing – you’re carrying it with more strength than you know.

So don’t you give up now. You keep digging for that treasure!

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” – C.S. Lewis

“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.” –Oscar Wilde

“Sometimes when you’re in a dark place, you think you’ve been buried…but actually, you’ve been planted.” –Christine Caine

Keep going.

Keep digging.

Your blessing just might be coverd in mess today – but it’s coming.

So take heart, friend.

If today finds you in the middle of a mess…

Breathe. Get grounded and dig deep. When you feel ready to break…keep going. Find your focus on the the truth – that your treasure is coming!

When it does – you’ll see that every shovel-full of struggle was quietly shaping the strength, grit, grace, and glory within you.

Let the storm make you wiser. Let the manure push you deeper.

You’re not just buried.

You’ve been planted.

Do your work.

Allow your growth.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing  of your faith produces perseverence."  -James 1:2-3

Still digging, still believing, and cheering you on – with grace in my heart.

-Tina