Growth Comes From Trying

This photo was taken on September 2, 2025 at the Ermita de San Nicolás on the Camino de Santiago — a small chapel and refuge filled with centuries of prayers, hopes, tears, and quiet faith.

What caught my eye was this simple table of taper candles.

Some were brand new.

Others were burned low.

Each one resting in its own little holder — some with angels — against ancient, textured stone walls that have stood for hundreds of years.

It felt magical to me.

The next day in my journal I wrote something very honest:

I’m happy. I’m sad. This is hard. This is easy. I’m homesick, but I love it here.

All of those feelings, existing at the same time.

And yet, even with all those emotions swirling inside me, I stayed.

I kept walking.

I kept opening my heart to the experience.

That moment taught me something I keep coming back to in my life and in my creative journey: Growth comes from trying.

Not from feeling perfectly confident.

Not from having it all figured out.

But from showing up anyway — with our doubts, our hopes, our longing, and our courage all mixed together.

Sometimes courage isn’t loud or bold.

Sometimes it looks like lighting a candle.

Taking another step.

Picking up the paintbrush.

Writing the next page.

Saying yes to something that matters to you, even when you feel unsure.

Standing in that quiet chapel, I felt deeply grateful — grateful for the chance to be there, grateful for the path, grateful for the growth that was happening even when I couldn’t fully see it yet.

So today, I’m inviting you to reflect with me.

What gentle nudge toward growth are you feeling in your heart right now?

It doesn’t have to be big.It just has to be yours.

🩵We are all pilgrims of the heart. 🩵Let’s walk this path together.🩵— Mary@Home | The Joyful Gypsy Gal