If you aren’t actively fighting for a better future, it is easy to let discouragement settle in. You will start to wonder why you even let your hope rise up again. Instead of seeing the possibilities, you tell yourself that you will never get what you hope for, so you might as well stop hoping that something good can happen. You talk yourself into believing that hoping is silly and only opens up the door for you to be hurt, look foolish, and be disappointed again. Discouragement sets in.

These feelings could be a result of the grief and sadness you feel as you walk through the days, weeks, months and years of your husband being in prison. It is OK to feel sad, to miss him, and to grieve the loss of the life you had hoped for. But you cannot let discouragement take over your life or bitterness will come in and steal your joy and your future. Discouragement has a way of sneaking into your heart and blinding you to the good in your life. When you can’t see anything positive, it is so much easier to give up on your dreams.