As a young teen girl, I remember my dad giving me advice to, “do it anyway.” I was complaining about the hard things in my life. I was struggling to work as a waitress and change my homework schedule. By nature, I run from the difficult. Something inside me wants to quit, give up when I have to push a little more. Naturally, I am a queen of habit and ritual. I like consistency in the hectic, chaos of life. 

While those things, those natural tendencies aren’t necessarily bad they can be damaging. They can stand in the way of growth, change, and life lessons. Stubbornness to live an easy life can lead to a lack of true fellowship with my God and others. 

How many of us are exempt from trial? How many of us never have bad days or difficult things? That’s right, no one. Our difficulties. The walking through the dark valleys is a tool of strength. A tool that brings our hearts to a place of leaning and trusting in the Almighty. A tool that connects us to the cashier at the grocery store, our neighbor, our seatmate on the plane and our very sister in Christ. 

My dad’s advice many years ago was difficult at the time. There were hot tears streaming down my weary cheeks. However, “doing it anyway” made a difference. That hard thing as a teenager helped me in the difficult days to come. 

Just last week my husband and I were faced with many crazy, frustrating, difficult things back to back. I wanted to cry. I wanted to throw a little toddler tantrum. But you know what we did instead. We just “did it.” One foot in front of the other. Prayer as our anchor. And we made it through. We made it through the hard things, the gray valley. 

God is with us in the difficult times. He is right beside us when the path seems dreary. God is our peace in the chaos of life. God is our hope when there seems to be nothing to give thanks for. God is our strength always and especially when we feel we have none. 

Keep going. Do each day and let God bless you! 

 

Matthew 5:3-10 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ESV

Psalm 18:28 You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. NLT

1 Peter 1:6-7  So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. NLT