I enjoy running, and I’ve been doing it on and off for most of my adult life. One year, I decided to challenge myself by signing up for a half-marathon. I trained for 12 weeks to make sure I’d be ready on race day.

Sometimes it feels like the weekdays are stuck on repeat: wake up, go to work, come home, go to bed, and do it all over again. This can feel especially frustrating if you’re in a job that doesn’t seem to make a difference, or one that feels disconnected from your calling or long-term goals. I’ve been there. I get it.

The weather can be unpredictable where I live. One day, I took my daughter to a terrarium-making workshop at a coffee shop about 20 minutes from home. When we arrived, the sun was shining and the temperature hovered around 50 degrees.

We live in a time when it’s become socially acceptable to cut people off without explanation; also known as ghosting. It’s often promoted as a way to set boundaries with those who are deemed unworthy of continued access.

Growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, we didn’t have cell phones, the internet, or email. If we wanted to talk to a friend, we had to call them from a home phone, find a pay phone, or show up at their house and knock.

We’ve all had a day or two when we’ve felt invisible. Maybe someone waved in our direction and we waved back, only to realize they were greeting the person behind us. Or maybe we were cut off in traffic, or skipped in a line, as if we simply weren’t there.

Life can be challenging at times, but there are still so many things to be joyful about. I’ve experienced some challenging and anxiety-ridden times in my life, but through it all, God has sustained me and given me the strength to keep going!