Hear Me, Spirits

Hear me, spirits.

I don’t pray for ease.
I pray for struggle.
I pray for growth.

Not because I want pain  but because I want strength that’s earned.

Give me setbacks that sharpen me.
Give me silence that teaches me to listen.
Give me failure that reveals who I really am beneath the shine.

I don’t want a smooth path.
I want the kind that breaks my shoes, burns my ego, and builds my soul.

I want to be the kind of person who keeps walking 
even when the fog doesn’t clear,
even when the checkpoints disappear,
even when it would be easier to go back.

Because struggle shows me who I’m not.
And growth shows me who I could be.

So no, I don’t want shortcuts.
I want stories.
I want scars.
I want to outgrow the old versions of myself, again and again.

Hear me, spirits.
Test me.
Stretch me.
Make me remember what I’m capable of  even when I forget.

I don’t pray for easy.
I pray for becoming.