Reflective Routes: Understanding Struggle

Spring 2020 began exposing the quiet sins we thought we’d buried—fault lines in families, fractures in faith, and a world that suddenly felt one step away from a zombie apocalypse.

By fall, Mom passed… and I woke up feeling like I’d stepped into the Twilight Zone—like I’d been hit by a Mack truck, as the saying goes.

Hey, I’m Danna, a Reflective Routes contributor. Nice to meet you.

Have you ever had a morning where you wake up and think, “What on earth just happened...?”

That was me—disoriented, cracked open, and suddenly aware that something deep inside needed attention...

Understanding struggle—embracing the odd juxtaposition of mirrors and onions—became a personal quest.

Your story won’t look exactly like mine, and mine won’t look exactly like yours.

But the ache? The confusion? The questions? Those we share. We all long for clarity, for acceptance, for love that doesn’t shift with circumstance.

Reflective Routes helps us understand our struggles and challenges, bringing more clarity and reassurance into daily life—especially when we’re walking in relationship with the Godhead.

And if God is our Father, then He knows every plot to every story—yours, mine, and the words we haven’t dared to say out loud yet.

On healing trails, there’s always a moment to stop, breathe, and let God speak into the struggle you're wrestling.

After six years of wrestling with the One, I've come to learn a few things about Reflecting Routes and understanding struggle—not direct answers per se, but more for directions—may you find the info helpful to you too...

Many humans do, have, and are assuming we know who God is—out of His lessons of tough-love, He refuses to stay inside the little boxes we build. And if we’re honest, we act like disobedient kids more often than we’d like to admit.

We cross paths, we share homes, we share vows, we share good times‑n‑bad—but we’re not each other’s business the way we imagine. We’re companions, not controllers.

Each of us walks a route God Himself is shaping (believe it or not). We choose whether to step onto His path or keep carving our own—but it’s still, always has been, and will always be so—His way and His will.

The moments that 'trigger' you, me, us—is our personal House of Mirrors—reflecting the muddied places in our own hearts, the ruts we’ve dug without realizing it.

And when the unfairness of our lives finally becomes honest statements instead of screaming defenses, we can look at ourselves from the angle of freedom instead of fear.

Once you can see the difference between evil and righteousness—even in your own reactions—you begin to voluntarily step toward what is good, not just for yourself, but for the good of the whole.

And if you find yourself apologizing every time you open your mouth, it’s time to work toward self‑love and stop giving yourself away.

After six years of wrestling, here’s where it finally got personal for me… I don’t really know who I am—most of my life has been shaped by reactions… survival, really...

Fight or flight became my default setting—maybe you know that feeling too. Are you in default...?

It's time for something different—just surviving is a very-very long, empty, and lonely road. 

I’m choosing to discover life according to the plan the Godhead has for me...

He thought he was only gathering the pieces, but the shard revealed the misunderstanding at the root of his struggle

For me, the turning point wasn’t overly dramatic in God’s eyes—but it sure felt dramatic to me.

I finally realized the Godhead wasn’t the problem—my spiritual immaturity, ignorance even, was. That’s when the 'stink'en-think'en' started to lose its grip, and the cliff edge stopped looking like an option.

Growth begins right there, in that kind of honesty...