faith

Growing in the Darkness

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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My Daily Musings-October 10th, 2026

“A seed does not fear being buried because it knows it’s not the end, but the start of something new.”

This quote made me think of faith as a seed. Then I thought of this scripture in Matthew 17:20 when Jesus tells us, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed… nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

A mustard seed is actually a very small seed. Jesus is telling us that even a very small amount of genuine faith can accomplish great things. Even moving a mountain won’t be impossible. I can’t imagine moving a mountain because it seems very large and immovable. Jesus Christ can help us do what we need to do. He won’t ever leave us alone. God intends for us to learn, grow, and ultimately become who He wants us to become—even through failure and trials.

The quote makes me think that a seed is buried in the earth and there is nothing but darkness for a while. But underneath the surface it is growing and ready to spring up above the ground. A seed doesn’t fear the darkness; it embraces it because it knows it will grow in no other way. Then as it grows, it can become something new. I think the trials in our lives could be compared to the darkness. We learn and grow because of our trials. Our faith in Jesus Christ grows because of those hard times. Our trials are necessary for us. We couldn’t learn and grow in any other way. Even though they might be painful and heartbreaking at times, if we let them, those difficult times will teach us what we need to know and help our faith grow.

Have you ever gone through a difficult season that helped your faith grow in ways you couldn’t see at the time? What helps you hold on to faith when you feel like you’re in a season of darkness and can’t yet see what God is growing in you?

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A Small, Faithful Choice

/ 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 6th, 2026

“Joy is not always something that finds us. Sometimes it is a small, faithful choice we make again today.”

I believe that this is true. Some days it is easier to feel joy in my soul than other days. On my harder health days, I really have to choose joy instead of letting discouraging and negative thoughts invade and take over my mind. When I feel darkness and discouragement start to slowly creep into my thoughts, I have to choose not to let those thoughts stay for very long. I always feel better in my soul when I have joy and I am grateful for my blessings. Yes, it’s harder on some days to have those joyful and grateful feelings. But it’s always worth it to turn my thoughts and emotions from negative ones to positive ones.

I realize that it is harder for some people to let those negative and discouraging thoughts go than it is for other people. I have had times in my life when I was depressed and I didn’t know if I could get out of the darkness in my soul very easily. So, I do sympathize with those who struggle with bad anxiety and depression.

I go back to what my therapist told me a while back. She said that it is okay to go through all of the emotions we feel, even the discouraging and negative ones. But we should think of those feelings as water washing over us like when we are in the shower. We can sit with them for a little while. But then we should let them wash down the drain so they won’t clog the drain or weigh down our thoughts and feelings.

It helps me to talk about my feelings with someone who understands how I feel, especially on my harder health days. So, reach out to those who understand how you feel. We are here on this earth to help one another through our difficult times. We need each other. We can learn from the faith of others who have gone through hard experiences.

What helps you choose joy on the days when joy doesn’t come easily? How do you remind yourself of your blessings when you’re going through a difficult time?

A Soul’s Prayer

/ Christine Maynor / 1 Comment

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The Backstory

“There are thoughts which are prayers. There are moments when, whatever the posture of the body, the soul is on its knees.”
— Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

This quote by Victor Hugo really made me ponder and research the meaning behind it. In 1843, his daughter passed away, and during much of the time he was writing Les Misérables, he was living in exile from France.

When he speaks of “a soul on its knees,” he is talking about anyone who feels broken, alone, humbled, searching, grateful, or simply reaching toward God. I think we all have those moments in our lives when our bodies and minds are so weary that we cry out to our Father in prayer for relief.

A Soul’s Prayer

We all have felt alone a time or two,
Because no one understands us and we feel blue.
Our trials hang so heavy on our weary shoulders,
That it feels like we carry huge boulders.
When our bodies are so weary from the weight
And we can’t seem to get our minds straight.
So we try to fix our problems all on our own,
Because we think that our worries and cares are unknown.
Just when we feel the darkness try to creep into our souls,
And we don’t know if we can make it anymore in our various roles.
That’s when we cry out to our Heavenly Father on bended knee,
Even though we can’t articulate the words, we send out a plea.
We plead to our Father in Heaven
That He will be with us without question.
Our soul feels so weary that we surrender to His will,
Because He has a plan for us to fulfill.
We share our innermost thoughts in our soul’s prayer,
Pleading with our Father to always be there.
He is there when we need Him any time of the day,
Because He loves us more than we could ever say.

The Takeaway

Sometimes the weight of the burdens that we carry becomes so great that we don’t know if we can make it anymore. Our soul starts to feel the burden and we don’t know what to do. That’s when we should drop to our knees and pray to our Heavenly Father. We can reach Him any time of the day, and He will hear the thoughts and intents of our hearts and souls. He will always be there for us because we are His children, and He loves us very much.

Watch the YouTube short of me reading part of this poem here:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Tzsjwrzx20Q

More Than My Struggles

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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

Backstory:
While doing a yoga routine for fibromyalgia on YouTube earlier this week, the woman who does the video said that fibromyalgia is only a very small portion of who she is. She doesn’t let it rule her life or her daily activities. This idea really intrigued me because I live with fibromyalgia and other chronic symptoms every day. Those symptoms do tend to rule my day at times. Then I thought that this could be applied to all of us. What influences, emotions, health issues or other things do we let rule our lives and discourage us sometimes? Instead of allowing discouragement, fear, pain, or other influences rule us, what would happen if we chose to be guided by faith, hope, and truth? 

More Than My Struggles

I wake up every day with more chronic symptoms than I could say,
And even though I try, these symptoms do get in my way.
But I am stronger than I look on the outside,
Even though no one can see all the tears I have cried.

My health issues are only a small portion of me,
Even though the rest of who I am can be hard to see.
I have many days when I just want to stay in bed
And pull the covers back over my tired head.

I ask myself the question, “What will I let influence me today?”
Will I let my health issues lead my exhausted heart astray?
Will I let outside influences that aren’t important determine my worth?
Or will I remember that I have been loved by many since before my birth?

Will I cling to my Heavenly Father in prayer on bended knee
And ask Him to send His light to my life so I can more clearly see?
Yes, I will try to cling to Him who loves me more than anyone,
And to let His light into my life like the rays of the sun.

I am human and I know that I will occasionally stray,
But my loving Heavenly Father will be by my side every day.
He will help me when I am feeling down and blue,
Because He loves me and He is stuck to me like glue.

The Takeaway: Instead of letting things like health issues, emotions, or other people rule our lives, we should let our faith and trust in our Heavenly Father guide us the most. We are stronger than we look on the outside. Other people can’t see what we struggle with in our souls. We all may be facing difficult things while still choosing to trust and have faith in our Heavenly Father. He will be with us every day of our lives. We just need to turn to Him in faith and we can overcome whatever challenges await us.

Watch the YouTube short here:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/N8S2wEtKAMM

Following the Light

/ Christine Maynor / 1 Comment

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

Backstory:
I listened to a story that President Gordon B. Hinckley told that stayed with me. He said that when he was a young man, he worked for the railroad. He used to frequently ride trains through the night. He often wondered how the engineer had the confidence to keep moving forward when the train’s headlight illuminated only a short distance of track ahead. As the train moved forward, more of the path came into view. That is like our lives. Our Heavenly Father rarely reveals our entire journey all at once. Instead, He gives us enough light for the next step. As we continue moving forward in faith, He reveals a little more. 

Following the Light

Our lives on this earth are like a train on a track,
At night we can only see a little of the path in the black.
We lean on the headlight of faith to keep moving forward,
And trust that the Master Engineer knows the path leading onward.

Some days the way will seem dark and we might feel all alone
Like we are on the train by ourselves and our worries are unknown.
When we feel the weight of the dark settling around,
We trust in our Father to guide us to higher ground.

Our Father will send us His guidance to brighten the night,
So that we can move forward surrounded and warmed by His light.
Though darkness surrounds as the train rolls along the track,
We trust in His vision and know that He’s guiding us back.

All we need to do is keep taking one step at a time,
When we are facing a big mountain to climb.
Even though we can’t see the entire path we need to take,
We can trust that the Master Engineer will be there for our sake.

When you feel like you can’t push ahead anymore,
And heavy worries leave you broken and flat on the floor.
Just trust that your Father knows where you need to go
And He will help you so that with His light, you can grow.

The Takeaway: Our lives are like a train on the tracks. As we journey in the darkness of night, we can only see a little ways ahead of us. Our Father in Heaven sees the entire path forward for our lives. He will be with us to guide us on our journey. We need to have faith and let His light shine through us to navigate through the trials we face. 

Watch the YouTube video of me reading part of this poem here:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/o0p6M4j_J_E