Faith in Trials

He Is Just a Prayer Away

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

My Daily Musings-September 29th, 2026

“Don’t give up; the hardest battles are given to the strongest soldiers.”

I have always believed that our Heavenly Father doesn’t give us more than we can handle. He knows us so well. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. He tailors our trials to us individually.

Some days, I feel discouragement and darkness creeping into my soul. I don’t know if I can be this strong anymore. Dealing with chronic illness symptoms every day is a lot to handle. So, I get discouraged and I don’t know if I can keep going. I really cling to prayer on those days. Sometimes I just cry to my Heavenly Father and He sends down His love to me.

I think of our Heavenly Father as our military commander, just a lot more kind. We are all His soldiers. He knows us so well, and He knows which missions to give us that will help us learn and grow. He knows what we are going through and how hard our trials are. He doesn’t leave us alone to fight on the battlefield without His help. He sends us earthly angels to help us-our family and friends. He is never far away from us. He is just a prayer away. We just need to reach out to Him and He will be there right away.

Have you ever gone through a time when you felt like you couldn’t keep going? What helped you find the strength to take the next step? How has prayer helped you when you’ve felt discouraged or overwhelmed by the battles you’re facing?

Anchored in God’s Love

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

My Daily Musings-September 15th, 2026

“God’s presence brings peace in the middle of life’s storms. His love is an anchor that keeps us steady.”

If we can’t seem to find peace in our lives, maybe that is because we try to carry our burdens on our own. When we are going through difficult trials, we need to involve our Heavenly Father in our lives. He loves us so much and He wants to shower us with blessings. We only need to ask Him. He will shower us with peace, especially during times when our burdens seem too heavy to carry alone.

We can depend upon His love. It will always be there for us. It is an anchor in our lives that we can count on. It will never fail and it will keep us steady, especially during the storms of our lives.

I have felt the anchor of my Heavenly Father’s love in my life many times, too many to count. I have felt His love the most when the storms of my life became really heavy. There have been many times when I didn’t know if I could carry my burdens anymore. But He has always been there for me. I feel His love the most when I reach out to Him in prayer.

When have you felt God’s love keeping you steady during one of life’s storms? How has prayer helped you find peace when your burdens felt too heavy to carry alone?

Crying Out to God

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

My Daily Musings-September 9th, 2026

When I was listening to the audiobook, Courting Mr. Emerson by Melody Carlson, a conversation between two characters jumped out at me. Willow said to Mr. Emerson that just because bad things happen in the world or to you, that doesn’t mean God doesn’t exist. He wants us to come to Him and cling to Him so we can get through the hard times. She said that during a particularly hard time in her life, she learned to cling to God and that time strengthened her belief and faith in Him and that He was there for her.

One particularly hard time in my life was after my miscarriage in 2009. For a while afterward, I was mad at my Heavenly Father for taking away from me something I wanted so badly-to be a mother. So I didn’t pray for a while. My amazing husband suggested that I just cry out my feelings, whether they were negative or positive, to my Heavenly Father. So I knelt down and did that with my husband’s arms wrapped around me. I couldn’t speak at first because I felt my Heavenly Father’s love for me so strongly. I spoke my emotions out loud. Most of those feelings were anger and disappointment. But afterward, I felt much better. After that moment, I knew that my Heavenly Father wanted me to communicate with Him, even if I was upset with Him. I also felt that He loved me very much.

After that experience, when I am going through hard times, I pray to Him and trust in His plan for my life instead of being mad at Him for my circumstances and not communicating with Him. Especially lately, living with fibromyalgia and an autoimmune disease, I have learned that the only way I can get through my hard days is pleading with my Heavenly Father to help me get through the day.

Have you ever gone through a difficult time that ultimately strengthened your faith in God? Have you ever felt like you could cry out to God with your honest feelings, even when those feelings were difficult or painful?

He Is Life

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

My Daily Musings-August 27th, 2026

“We don’t follow Jesus to have a perfect life. We follow Him because He is life. Peace in chaos. Hope in heartbreak. Light in the dark.”

This quote really resonated with me and made me ponder the meaning. It is true that following Jesus doesn’t guarantee us a perfect life. We are meant to have trials in this life because that is how we grow and develop our faith. I love that this quote says that “We follow Him because He is life.” I agree with that so much. Jesus brings hope and joy into our lives. If it weren’t for Jesus, there wouldn’t be much purpose or hope in our lives.

I know I write about my chronic illness a lot, but that’s because it affects my life every day. On my hardest days, I try to stay positive and keep hope alive in my heart. My hope always comes from Jesus. Because of Him, there is hope that the sun will rise in the morning. Because of Him, even on my hardest days with my health, there is hope for a better day tomorrow.

We all have trials in this life. Because of Jesus, we can feel peace during chaos, hope in heartbreak, and light in the dark. I think of those I know who struggle with depression and anxiety. I don’t know exactly how you feel, even though I have felt anxiety and depression at times. During dark times in my life, I knew that there was hope because of my faith in Jesus. Following Him doesn’t make our lives instantly easier, but with Him beside us, we can endure our trials with hope and faith for the future.

How has following Jesus brought you peace, hope, or light during a difficult season of your life? When life feels overwhelming, what helps you hold on to hope?

From Why to Trust

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Backstory:

As I was listening to the audiobook, Welcome to the Honey B&B by Melody Carlson, something one of the characters said really stuck out to me. She had been caring for her husband who had FTD, an early-onset type of dementia. She said to her daughter and granddaughter that she heard God speaking to her one day. He told her to stop asking why and just to trust Him in the future. That can be applied to our lives. We all have hard trials we have to go through in this life. If we stop asking God,  “Why is this happening to us?” and just trust in Him and His plan for our lives, then we can find more purpose in our trials.

From Why to Trust

I woke up one day not feeling like me,
As I fell to the floor on bended knee.
I knew something wasn’t right with my body and mind
Because I usually had more energy and strength than I could find.

I went to so many doctors and was put on so many medications,
Only to be dismissed and not have very many explanations.
I started asking my Heavenly Father, “Why was this happening?
And why was my life so different than I had been imagining?”

When chronic illness strikes its ugly head
And you struggle to get out of your bed.
You go through this cycle of asking why
When you are alone in the darkness and you cry.

If you stay close to your Father in Heaven,
You can eventually see that He is there for you without question.
Even though you may never know the answer to why,
You make peace with your diagnosis and you feel like you can try.

You try to trust in your Heavenly Father’s plan for you,
As you pour out your heart to Him, for that’s all you can do.
So you patiently wait for His guidance and peace,
As you try to let your worries and cares cease.

The Takeaway: We all face hard trials in this life that feel like they might break us apart. For those people with chronic illness, every day can be a struggle between constantly asking, “Why is this happening to me?” and trying to trust in your Heavenly Father’s plan for you. He is always there, ready to embrace you with open arms and loving hands.

Watch the YouTube short of me reading part of the poem here:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Xgu3_StszhM