Thursday, September 18, 2014

Persevere

There are days when I seem to just chant this one little word over and over and over in my brain, hoping it will translate to my heart and soul.



You don't have to be going through anything especially traumatic to feel the struggle to persevere. It is just life.
 Everyday life.

Of course, heaven knows I am not discounting those trials when it is hard to even imagine putting one foot in front of the other through sloggy time and piled up earth. We need an extra dose of endurance then, for sure.
But what about just every. single. day? We get out of bed, determined - or not - to put on a positive thought, but our legs are tired.
Our brains are fried.
We have people to feed.
We have to go to the same job.
We are in charge of something and responsible.
We keep peeling wallpaper but there is more under there!


How do we persevere then? EVERY DAY? Our whole lives?
This world is hard. My brain gets messed up about what is important, pretty much several times per rotation of the planet. The labor that it takes to make things happen is ... LABORious. 


Isn't it?

I know this about you. And you know it about me. Let's just look at things real.

I'm not always happy to begin the day cooking and reading to and directing and goading children and ... oh my gosh! I'm in charge of human beings!!!



This is how I keep doing it. Over and over. Trudging and plowing. Little by little.
Knowing that God is God.
I'm not in charge of that - thank God.
And then I can stop.
Get quiet in my soul.
Look around with fresh, unconcerned eyes because God is God.
And from that one thought I can be
 thankful.


 And I can feel freedom to not be God. I can just do what I can do and leave the rest up to Him.
Thankfully.  
Minute by minute. 
Persevering.

How do you persevere?

2 comments:

Lauri said...

Yes! "Oh my gosh! I'm in charge of human beings!" I think this remarkably often.

How do I persevere? By taking a breath and stopping to enjoy what is in front of me. A little person's curl or shining eyes. The crazy after-dinner mess that invites us to work together to regain serenity. In that moment, it's ok.

So if the moment is ok, and I know that God has a much bigger plan (recently reminded of Moses' mom, Jochebed, how she snuck him into the reeds, not knowing how this suffering could possibly work out for God's glory). This is how I persevere.

Thank you for your encouraging words!

Amanda Conley said...

Yes! Great thoughts, Lauri!