Well, it’s happened. I’ve started a blog. I know I know, you’re thinking that the last thing the world needs is another 20-something year-old girl, sharing her opinions on life, love, religion and everything in between. And, lets be honest, you would be right in your thinking because the world is full of blogs that are precisely that.
But, while the world may have no use for this blog, what if I’m not writing to appeal to the world? I have no intentions of this blog ever reaching more than my few friends who will click on the link as they scroll through their Facebook feed. I chose to start this blog, because maybe one person will read this and be encouraged. Maybe another 20-something year-old girl will close out of this page after reading a post and feel like she isn’t the only one in the world struggling with everyday 20-something year-old challenges that 20-something year-olds across the country are struggling with. That sentence was entirely too long, I know. That’s a thing you should be aware of if you choose to keep reading these posts-sometimes my sentences are too long and often, not punctuated to perfection, my apologies in advance.
I’m aware that my life looks drastically different then the 20-something year-olds who I sit by in class or next to on the bus. But there are some things that I assume are common themes in many of our lives. You know, like the struggle to balance being a good friend, attending all of your classes, calling your parents weekly to let them know you’re alive, loving your significant other well-all while trying to remember to eat three meals a day and brush your teeth before running out of the door every morning. These very real struggles are what makes your 20’s so exhausting/exciting/terrifying/incredible, so why not write about them?
And that’s my spiel. I have no clue what this blog will consist of-probably stories of the many embarrassing things that happen to me everyday on campus, what the Lord is teaching me or maybe I’ll write about how I’m getting married in 9 months, but I still suck at cooking and I can’t seem to keep my room clean for more than 2 weeks at a time. See, there’s another too-long sentence, but this is my blog so I’ll choose to keep it, because maybe someone else will feel normal for not always knowing how to punctuate every too-long sentence.
I was about to sign out (that’s blog protocol right?) but I forgot to tell you about me. Because maybe you’re reading this and we became Facebook friends 4 years ago and you don’t actually know anything about my life, so I’ll tell you.
My name is Reaghen. I’m 21 and I go to Texas Tech University. I am engaged to the greatest man I know, and we’ll be married in May. I am the middle child of three, but I won’t get started on the (very real) middle child syndrome. My brother is 12, he’s hysterical and frustrating, as most 12 year-olds are. My sister is 25 and might be the hardest working woman I’ve ever met. My parents are great. Dad is the Mayor and he’s a great one. Mom is the most selfless person I know. I’m convinced I have the greatest friends that exist. I love The Lord a lot, though I fail at least 100 times a day at loving Him well, as I’m sure you’ll read about. I love ice cream and traveling and Chacos and Christian rap. Jackson and I have a dog named Gunnar who is nuts but I adore him. I’m terrible at spelling and I’m even worse at staying organized.
Why is the name of this blog “Struggle Pretty”? One, because a band that I love, Penny and Sparrow, just released an album with this as the title. Give no credit to me for the beauty of the phrase, I’m simply an uncreative beginner blogger who could come up with nothing on my own. Second, because the phrase perfectly embodies what this blog is about. It seems contradictory at first, almost like these two words were accidentally placed together. But, if we’re honest, is not life often a struggle? It is hard and chaotic, unpredictable and scary. However, life is as beautiful as it is hard. We struggle and we toil and we suffer. As a Christ-follower, though, I am convinced that there is beauty in the midst of all of those things. They are a wonderful (and minuscule) portrait of the struggle and toil and suffering that Christ experienced for us to be capable of experiencing life in him. So we struggle, no doubt-but our struggle is pretty. It is beautiful. It is reflective of Christ. As Paul said in Colossians 1:24, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions”. Paul doesn’t mean that Christ’s afflictions were lacking in anything, but rather our acceptance and rejoicing amidst our struggles is what is lacking. It’s through this rejoicing that we are capable of reflecting the very nature of Christ. That’s what this blog is all about. Struggling, rejoicing in that struggling, and finding the beauty to be had in the midst of the struggle. We struggle, but we struggle pretty.
That about covers it, I think. Thanks for reading. Check back for relatable struggles, embarrassing stories, and the opinions of a 20-something year-old girl.
The Struggles and Laughs of a Momma and Wife 
Well, you’ve reached more than your friends already (you have what, 2 posts?) and your “Don’t judge a book by its cover or a couple by their Instagram” was phenomenal. Thank you.
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