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Stay Strong

 


Happy Friday! I am participating in Five Minute Friday which is a fast, fun opportunity to strengthen my writing skills. A word prompt is given and you are encouraged to write for five minutes on a specific topic. Today's word is STRONG. 

Strong is a powerful word to speak, but is much harder to put action into. The journey to strong usually begins with weakness - an area that needs improvement or to be strengthened. Becoming stronger can be a process or a journey, often filled with challenges that in the end, make us better. 

Recently, my husband and I took a quick trip to the Georgia mountains. 2 of our sons are currently in Georgia, so we enjoyed a visit with them and then headed for a quick empty nest trip to the mountains. 



One of our favorite things to do is to take walks on the mountain trails. There is something so calming about the mountain air, leaves and streams. We took off on a trail that would lead to a waterfall. There was only one sign at the beginning of the trail and we assumed there would be additional trail markers. 

After several minutes into our walk, we saw small ripples in the creek and finally came up on a small waterfall. It was pretty, but we wondered  "is this it"? The trail grew more intense with mud from recent rains, rocks and roots to navigate through. My first impulse was to say, that must be the waterfall and turn around to head back. Sweet hubby, who is the strong and adventurous leader said "let's just go a little further and see". 


Pushing through the trail, we could hear the sound of rushing water ahead. Knowing something beautiful was ahead gave the strength to keep walking. Finally a clearing appeared and we beheld a gorgeous site...this was the falls, not the one we came up on earlier.  



There was a beautiful mixture of calm waters and roaring water falling. Peaceful, invigorating and made me so thankful that we pushed on through the walk to the end result. 


STRONG can be a destination. It takes action, but also perseverance and a hope filled eye to behold a glimpse of something better on the other side.  STRONG is hard, but is worth the journey and after the process, you will be glad you kept going. Better is ahead as long as we keep STRONG! 

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Comments

  1. @RhondaLBrown2July 16, 2021 at 2:09 PM

    Hi, I'm your neighbor today. Beautiful pictures to go along with a timely message. Rhonda

    ReplyDelete
  2. simplysoulsearching.comJuly 16, 2021 at 2:32 PM

    Oh, this is lovely! We enjoy hiking, too, and yes, it's the beauty along the way - as well as the hope of seeing greater beauty at the end - that inspire us to stay strong. Great photos. Thank you for taking us with you. (Karen, FMF #12)

    ReplyDelete
  3. WayneWJuly 16, 2021 at 3:37 PM

    I like your concluding statement: "STRONG can be a destination. It takes action, but also perseverance and a hope filled eye to behold a glimpse of something better on the other side." Perseverance and confidence in the Lord make a strong combination!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lisa BlairJuly 16, 2021 at 3:56 PM

    Beautiful words, Joyce. And wonderful pictures capturing your time in Georgia. We enjoy walking trails and seeing waterfalls too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. CarolJuly 16, 2021 at 4:42 PM

    Glad that you kept going and came to the waterfall. I was reminded of a time my husband and I got lost on a trail in New Mexico--we missed seeing the garden and water pools. We had to call our daughter-in law to help us get back to our car. A few days later our son took us back to the trail (we went to the right instead of the left at a Y, and then by mistake entered a trail that took us far from our destination. We did finally see the lovely garden and pools of water fed by streams.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kym July 17, 2021 at 5:14 PM

    Gorgeous waterfall!! So glad you were strong and persevered, and shared the story with us!
    Visiting from FMF#14

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great-Granny GrandmaJuly 17, 2021 at 5:37 PM

    This is so true, and something I need to keep reminding myself of--not to give up so quickly. I'm always glad when I give myself that little extra push and keep going until I reach my goal.
    Your pictures are beautiful, and that waterfall was certainly worth the extra effort it took to get there.
    Visiting from #19

    ReplyDelete
  8. Corinne RodriguesJuly 19, 2021 at 4:59 AM

    Thank you for sharing these lovely pictures and a reminder that we need to push forward and perserve!

    ReplyDelete

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