Marisa Donnelly

Every single person has a story to tell. Whether we’ve come from humble beginnings, fallen down, lost our way, struggled with debt, or faced the unbearable—we all carry baggage from our past—and we all find a way to fight through, to push on.

All I want to be is a person who is joyous, who finds hope in the brokenness and light in the dark. I just want to fill and be filled, to bless other people as I have been blessed.

Pisces know how to love.

Arm yourself with God’s grace, with His passion, love, and strength. Wear His truth like armor, and go light the world.

A quick lesson on how to compliment a girl without being creepy, and to show you understand she is a strong woman. Talk about her eyes. How they show determination.

Some people are not going to understand your heart, and that’s okay.

There is no such thing as ‘too much.’ Ever.

The time you set aside to simply slow down, to be present, to live without focusing on what’s coming next—that’s what sets you free.

Who we are as people is not comprised of the negative pieces of our lives, but the positive. By the ways we’ve stood back up after being pushed down, risen after falling. By the way we’ve continued, and never given up.

Following God is not a competition, not a fleeting pleasure, not something that can negatively consume you and leave you empty, and still longing to be filled.

I will love you until you forget—who she was, how she left, why you stopped believing in love and in yourself for a minute. I will love you until you remember your worth.

Be the laughter that spreads, the smile that greets a person who is struggling through their day. Be the encouragement a stranger needs, a shoulder for one to lean on, a hand to pull them back to their feet again.

I love you more. Which is to say that we all have numbered days, but I want to spend my temporary forever standing next to you.

Right now I’m breathing in the hope for tomorrow. I’m exhaling my frustration, my stress, my anxiety. I’m releasing. And beginning again.

Faith is not conditional, not something that changes when the world doesn’t go your way. Faith has a foundation—so build yours in Him and don’t let it be shaken.

Even when life gets complicated, true friendship remains.

I am proud of the way my heart keeps beating, keeps believing, keeps fighting. I am proud of who I am.

There is more to this life than believing what you have right now is all there is, that this is all you can get, that you’re stuck. There is more out there; go get it.