2 Great Truths that Discouragement Teaches

This morning my husband and I discuss diacouragement in our work lives. It comes! It happens! What I've learned in the last ten years is to see diacouragement as a signpost on the journey. 

It shows me two truths:

Diacouragement reminds me of what I really want and need. If I'm not discouraged about an obstacle or setback, then maybe the dream wasn't all that important to me.

The extent of my discouragement reveals the meaning of this goal or dream. I listen to these feelings, and I learn about myself  and become even more honest. 

Discouragement also, praise God, breeds creativity. Discouragement in my writing life sent me on a journey of blogging, self-publishing, speaking, and teaching. It was a Refiner's Fire to purge anything extraneous or inauthentic. 

If an obstacle comes, I don't cringe; I create. 

Every dream needs the school of discouragement. It reminds and refines. It's the signpost we should note carefully for what it's teaching us.