The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

My name is Maya Lenore and I am a 24 year old Christian woman that lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia. This blog is something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while and 2019 is the year that I want to write about my journey. The journey of a Christian is not an easy one. There are many lessons to be learned, much growth to be done and many tears to shed. But in the end there is joy! With this blog I expect to share my lessons, my growth, and my tears that you may be encouraged.

Enduring optimism is something I came up with in 2018 to describe how I stay upbeat in hopeless environments. Right now I am working as an AmeriCorps VISTA in a middle school in Philadelphia in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. Working in an environment without hope is a very difficult thing to do. But, we must not wallow in hopelessness, we must bring the hope! We must not give up! We must be OPTIMISTIC!

One of my favorite verses in the bible is Phillippians 3:13-14. Before it, Paul talks about how anything this world has to offer is garbage compared to the hope we have in Christ. He desires to know Christ and understanding the depths of His suffering, death and resurrection of the dead. He finishes his thought by saying:

…but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus too hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Phillippians 3:12-14

To endure in optimism we must but our hope in something bigger, something eternal. We must trust someone who is consistent, faithful, and all encompassing. Jesus Christ is the only person that is characterized by all these things. I pray that you may find joy in the small things every day and that you will never lose the hope in today and optimism for the future. May you always see the beauty of now.