Tag Archives: Progress

Change for Good

Posted on by S.A. Battaglia

I was thinking about how much I’ve messed up or missed the point in different areas of my life throughout the years, and I realized that it’s all a part of my story; all part of my journey. Some mess up less, some mess up more, the point is: where does it bring you? Where does it take you to? It’s all going to change you. Do you strive for that change to be for the better? Do you learn from mistakes, or only repeat them?

You are here, now, and everything that’s led to this point can have purpose. It can all be worth it, if you let God make use of it. The best part of it all is that this is not the final destination. There’s good left to be done, hope in what’s to come, and heaven on the other side. If I hadn’t gone through all I had, I wouldn’t be who I am- where I am. I am uniquely equipped and qualified for the purpose God has for me and my life. I’m in His hands, and there’s no better place to be than that- than where I am. The same can be true for you.

That very next breath you take… is an indicator that it’s not too late.

Step Out Into Progress

Posted on by S.A. Battaglia

When we spend too much time in climate we control, we lose our ability to adapt and grow. We become comfortable, stagnant, and limited; we forget how to hear from God’s spirit– how to think on our toes. There’s such a thing as too safe, and the funny thing is, it’s just an illusion anyway. More often than not what makes us feel safe makes us weaker, while facing what we fear will bring strength by increasing our faith.

Feel the Pain

Posted on by S.A. Battaglia

“Happiness creates a laziness which allows us to forget, but pain… teaches us a lesson which forces us to grow.” -The Killing

It’s interesting how as a society we chase happiness at all costs, especially to others, and numb or escape pain any way we can. I’m not saying let’s seek out pain, but really… which of the two can create the lasting benefit?

If we feel and face pain when it comes, then we’ll truly learn the lessons we ought to from it. That growth aligns our course towards a healthier future.

The Beauty of What Is

Posted on by S.A. Battaglia

Perhaps what could’ve been would’ve actually been… worse.

We can’t know the future, let alone the potential futures that have come and gone. When we get stuck in self-pity, it’s often because we think of how great things might have been. We ignore the fact that it’s equally possible that things would’ve been much, much worse than they are right now.

There’s no going back, but you get to choose the type of person you’re going to be, and you get to pursue becoming who God always intended you to become. That’s… a pretty incredible thing.

Choose Life

Posted on by S.A. Battaglia

Dwelling on what could’ve been and should’ve been is like getting lost in make-believe. You create this idealistic reality and imagine that’s how it actually would’ve been if only this, or if only that. But that’s not reality. Reality is what you’re escaping, as real life keeps passing by.

Here’s what you do know: you are where you are, right at this very moment. Who are you going to be? What kind of person are you going to spend your time and energy becoming? If you freeze up when faced with choices and just stay still, you’ve still made a choice. You’ve chosen fear.

Don’t wait for purpose to find you. No one else is going to live your life for you. Don’t let it go to waste. Are you still breathing? Then it’s not too late.

Thoughts and Observations on the Other Side of Marriage

Posted on by S.A. Battaglia

I’m a loyal person. When things start to progress in any form of relationship, roots begin to grow. Roots have never gone as deep as they had when I crossed into the realm of marriage. They are roots that I never thought would be uprooted. So, being on the other side of marriage, I’m finding that God’s going to have to be the one that fully digs them up. I’ve been continually healing, growing, and progressing, but there are just some depths that I cannot reach.

I can think that it wasn’t supposed to be this way… but it is this way. There is beauty, risk, and responsibility behind our gift of free will. The free will of another was enacted, so it is now up to me to use mine and choose to let God take me from here. I don’t know what the future holds, but He does and He is good. That is good enough for me.

Give It to Me Straight

Posted on by S.A. Battaglia

Marriage is a hell of a thing to have to experience by trial and error. I don’t want to ever have to learn from it in this way again. That’s why it is so important that I extract every possible lesson from this, allow it to blow open all of my illusions, and let it cause me to face reality and all the ways I need to change. There’s what’s been done to you, but there’s also who you’ve allowed yourself to be and what you’ve allowed yourself to do. What you’ve been given is not your fault, but what you do with it is your charge. You want to know how to learn from mistakes? Allow yourself to feel all that you ought to through the consequences. That is lesson enough to not want to be there again. I am not talking about going to a morbid place, or taking it to an unhealthy extent, but escape, numbness, band-aids, and cutting corners is like pursuing leprosy of the soul. It was when you felt the burn that you learned touching fire will hurt. The draw to want to rush through the lessons is incredibly strong, but when I let myself feel through this time, I know that no shortcut is worth being here again. I only hope that my transparency will be used to help someone else not go through the same.
*This is a draft from 11/30/2013 that somehow got overlooked and not posted. It’s interesting to look back and see when the hurt and angst was still so raw.

Hear My Heart

Posted on by S.A. Battaglia

It’s better for me if I don’t know what she’s up to or how things are going. I just hope they’re going well. I pray that they are. I tried to pray tonight and realized I just didn’t know what to say. So, I just told God, “I’ll always love her… and so will You. That’s a good thing. That’s good enough for me.” Amen.

As It Stands- I’m On My Knees

Posted on by S.A. Battaglia

I’ve been completely confounded by life. I’ve seen new depths of brokenness. I am wrestling with faith and trust… I believe only time will offer some of the answers for the reasons why, and that the rest won’t come until I step beyond this plane of time. I believe that God is good. I believe in the hope He offers. Right now, I’m just trying to do the best I can with what I have. I’m trying to spread love, and not hurt. I’m fighting to choose the right things, and not just the easy things. I want to be a tool for good, and not a weapon for wickedness. I desire peace, and hope to promote it in the lives of others. I hope to challenge people to not settle for the way things are, but to take responsibility for the person they are going to be and the life they are going to lead. Through it all, I don’t want my meaning to come from these things. I don’t want it to come in or from my “doing,” or from what you have to offer me. I want it to have already been obtained from the God who made me, died for me, and rose again. The One who dwells with me, in me, and will never leave me- in spite of me. Amen.