encouragement

The Way He Sees Me

/ Baylee Snelling / 1 Comment

Sometimes I forget what a gift it is
to be seen by Jesus.

Not just noticed —
but known.

He doesn’t rush past my heartache.
He doesn’t misread my silence.
He looks right at me —
and He stays.

With compassion.
With clarity.
With that quiet strength that speaks love
even before I find the words to ask for it.

That kind of seeing changes things.

Because when I remember how gently He sees me,
I want to look at others that way too.

Not through the lens of frustration or judgment,
but through the eyes of Christ —
the One who offers endurance
and encouragement
and the kind of love that never runs out.

So that’s my prayer today:
to see people like He sees me.

With softness.
With truth.
With grace that goes first —
even when it’s hard.

Anchor Verse:
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.”
— Romans 15:5 (NIV)

The Mountain in Front of Me

/ Baylee Snelling / Leave a comment

I read something recently:
“You have been assigned this mountain to show others it can be moved.”

And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.

Because some days, the mountain looks impossible.
Too steep.
Too heavy.
Too unmovable.

And yet — here I am.
Still standing at its base.
Still taking steps toward the summit.

Maybe that’s the point.
Not that I have to move it all at once,
but that each small step is proof
that it can be moved.

That with God,
even the impossible shifts.

And maybe one day,
when I’m on the other side,
I’ll turn around and see
that the mountain was never just mine to climb —
it was my testimony.

Nothing Wasted 

/ Baylee Snelling / 1 Comment

I used to wonder if any of it mattered —
the long nights,
the unanswered prayers,
the pain I couldn’t explain.

I used to question
why I had to walk through certain things at all.
Why it hurt.
Why it was allowed.
Why it had to look like loss.

But slowly —
quietly —
I’ve learned this truth:

With God, nothing is wasted.

Not the tears no one saw.
Not the silent waiting.
Not the ache that made it hard to breathe.
Not even the seasons I thought had no purpose at all.

He gathers it all.
And somehow,
He brings beauty from it.

It might not look like I imagined.
It might not come quickly.
But His grace doesn’t leave things unfinished.

Even here —
in what felt like failure,
in what still feels tender —
He’s writing redemption into every line.

So I’ll keep going.
Trusting the One
who doesn’t waste a thing.

Nothing Is Wasted

/ Baylee Snelling / 1 Comment

Even the broken pieces can grow something beautiful

I used to look back at the hard things and wonder what the point of it all was.
Why the pain, the waiting, the silence.
Why the breaking.

But slowly, in the quiet work of healing,
I’ve come to believe this —
that nothing is wasted in the hands of a God who sees the whole story.

Not the quiet tears I tried to hide.
Not the long, quiet stretches of uncertainty.
Not the prayers I barely had words for.
Not even the things I’d rather forget.

Because somehow,
the soil that held the most sorrow
is the same soil where something sacred began to grow.

No, I wouldn’t choose to walk through it again.
But I also wouldn’t trade what I’ve found on the other side:

A deeper strength.
A quieter kind of hope.
A faith that doesn’t need the full picture to trust the Painter.

So if you’re in the middle of it —
wondering if anything good could come from what’s been lost —
hold on.

What feels broken today
may one day bloom with beauty
you couldn’t imagine from here.

Nothing is wasted.
Not in His hands.