Strength in the Struggle
Can I just start this post off with pure honesty? Sometimes life downright SUCKS! I mean there are some hours, days, months, even seasons of life that just perpetually suck! It seems as though everything that can go wrong does go wrong. First it's the kids then it's the car then it's the money and then it's the man. Just when you've figured out the kids, the car, the money and tried your best to help the man it's the neighbors and the news (oh God the news!) I mean life can just perpetually SUCK! I look for the light at the end of the tunnel and just when I get it I find out it's a freight train of more suckiness (yes I made that up!) coming at top speed! It is in those times that I become determined to find even a small space of hope, a glimmer of light, just a speck of sunshine SOMETHING to help me believe that there's a shift coming!
For me that something is this picture
I don't care how bad the day is, when I hear MacKenzie laugh (keeps me light and reminds me of deep abiding love) or see Jasmine smile (it's so beautiful and reminds me of my own beauty) or Abria tell me one of her winding road light shining awesomely revelatory stories (reminds me of my boldness and wonder) I cannot help but smile and thank God. My gratitude level raises just enough for me to brush myself off and get back in the race of life.
Let's face it, sometimes the change doesn't come immediately. Sometimes the circumstance doesn't work out in the time or even the way you would like it. Sometimes the bills, budget, or the business doesn't line up and we have to continue to go back to the drawing board time and time again. Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. Sometimes in life we have to live in the intensity of the struggle for a period of time. Continuing to carry a mental load without a moment of respite can put you in a deficit that can lead to making desperate choices, anxiety, fear and even situational depression (more about that in another post!)
Your something of course may not be a picture of my kids (although it is amazingly beautiful isn't it?) Your something may be a thought, a quote, an old conversation, a memory or even a dream that has yet to manifest. Whatever it may be, I encourage you to find your something that no hell or high water can take from you and stay there long enough to get strength for the struggle.