So how do you find happiness when the picture doesn’t match the promise?

You learn to:

Hold the promise without denying the pain

Celebrate small progress instead of waiting for the big moment

Accept that the blueprint can change without the promise being canceled

Release the “should” and honor where you actually are

The picture may not match the promise yet.

But the story isn’t over.

Happiness in this season isn’t fake smiling through the struggle.

It’s saying:

“My life is under construction.

The promise is still active.

And I am allowed to be happy even while the walls are still going up.”

This is the work of the middle.

And even here, there is joy.