I tried to pick up snowboarding again last week after a decade apart from it. I fell over. A lot.

But one of the coolest things about all that time on my back was the ability to sit up each time and have my breath taken away by the amazing scenery. Had I not been forced to the ground due to my lack of skills, I would have zipped on by without fully appreciating my surroundings.

I also realized each fall was making me better. Each mistake taught me something new that I could improve on. Out of the pain came new understanding.

I’ve spent a lot of time searching for answers this year. Here’s a really simple, perspective altering truth I’m learning about that search:

Every single time, right before we have the answer, we don’t have the answer. There is an entire season of not understanding that leads up to the point of understanding something.

We have to do battle with things that we cannot yet do, or that we don’t yet understand, before we can ever hope to achieve anything significant.

Confusion precedes learning. Failure precedes success.

Sometimes we need to find joy in searching.

Even when we’re feeling really low, when life has thrown us to the ground, maybe there is still something beautiful to see if we just sit up and look around. Maybe there is purpose in the pain. Maybe, no matter where we find ourselves, there are things to learn and people to serve.

And maybe the best is yet to come.

So here’s to a new year filled with new adventures, new accomplishments, and new battles with that which we cannot do or understand…yet.