“Not all storms come to disrupt your life, some come to clear your path.” – Unknown
I remember that dark day, like it was last night. The day I had to make a choice to step out of my pity, anger and sorrow. No I was not yet fully recovered, healed, less hurt or angry from my predicament, but life was destined to go on with or without me. So I made the decision to begin living freely without malice, unforgiveness, and numbing resentment.
I’ll admit for a while this season of idleness was kind of comforting in a strange kind of way. Strange because nothing was finished, at least in my heart and mind. So doing nothing allowed me to neglect what was important, including the pain. I mean the sting of my pain pounded like a heartbeat. Steady, with rhythmic consistency, constantly reminding me, this ain’t over yet buddy. “Whatcha gon do?”, my spirit would ask me. I had to do something, because it was time. Time to see life as I had before with joy and gratefulness, and also in ways I had never experienced.
Like so many of us that experience hardships, the other side is usually rewarding and gets better over time, but getting there isn’t. It’s downright difficult and will beat most of us up along the way. The journey is certainly not for the faint of heart, weak-minded or the quitters. This thing takes perseverance and a strong belief in one’s self, because there will be those days where it seems to make more sense to simply stop where you are, which is usually just short of a milestone. However it’s very rare we see it that way while living in survival mode.
So my mantra to keep pressing is just that. A decision to move against the grain of our inner voice that is telling us no. No, you’re not enough, no, you’re not smart enough, pretty enough or strong enough. Turn that noise off and do an about face and focus on the direction that lies before you.
Coming out of difficult time will never be an easy thing to do. Besides courage we need to have empathy for ourselves, because we feel, we hurt and will experience many moments of emptiness. Despite this, we must decide that we will continue to strive forward, one day at time.
Storms will come, often when we least expect them, but realize that you are stronger than the storm. And what it will teach you will be far greater than what you feel today. We must get our minds right, so we can began to believe this truth for ourselves, not just those we encourage.
Keep Pressing,
Hank G