A Beautiful Struggle
"My Lord, what a day," she said with an exhaustive sigh. That sigh, oh that sigh, symbolized the kind of day she had which like clock work preceded the moment she carefully lowered herself into the big comfortable leather chair we had in our living room. I, being fully aware of her mood, offered up the boyish grin that I’d always flash when I saw her come through the door. That was many years ago and she was my mother. My mother worked a long twenty something years at the same job. "An exemplary employee and kind soul," folk at her job would say if you asked them about her. The neighbors couldn't find a more loving person, if you let them tell it. With a reputation worth its weight in gold, I nod and smile when other's lift their voice in praise when they'd recall her deeds. My mother, God rest her soul, lived a proud respectable life but there's something she'd teach me in her quiet stoic disposition when times weren't the best that I’ll never forget. I'm talking about those uncomfortable, bills are due, I ain't quite got the money kind of times and Lord, we had a few of those. In her moments of anger and frustration with how life dealt its hand, I saw a woman who chose to believe in better days.
As long as we take air into our lung's there will come a day when we will be tested. When I'd hear the word test growing up, I only associate tests with being in school. "No son, I'm not talking about that kind of test," my mother would say in her half country voice. "Tough times happen to the best of us, but you've got to believe in better days son. Always believe." That always stuck with me. Perspective often defines the lens by which we view our existence. Many of us arise each morning seeking to conquer life's grasp. We pray, we hope, we fight to remain balanced when so many things attempt to shake our foundation. Far too many times, life tries to point its long crooked finger in our faces foolishly trying to convince us that the situations we face in the present moment is far too much to bare. My mother was a woman of faith who had no problem reminded me that trouble didn't last forever when I'd complain about my circumstances. "I don't want to hear it. Thing's will get better son, when you choose to believe they will. What do you really believe?" That question still burns brightly in my field of dreams.
The sunshine is always just a cloud a way. That's the lesson I learned from the life my mother lived. She tried her best to remain joyful even in the midst of difficult times. If you choose to believe in better days, they'll come. The struggle won't last always. Nothing rarely ever stays the same. So that tough spot you might be in, I want you to smile confidently being fully aware that your best days stand proudly before you. Nothing and I mean nothing can block you from the breakthrough you seek. Unless of course you succumb to the belief that you don't deserve thrive. Challenging moments build up your resilience and sharpen your resolve ultimately revealing how much power you've got on the inside.
Today, I only wish to remind you of how powerful you are. I shared the story of my mothers words with you because they've helped me each time I've come to a place in my life when I felt bogged down by the cares of this world. I can't even begin to count the times I've felt like giving up on my dreams because the road I traveled became so difficult, that I even questioned if it were ever in the cards for me to ever become something great. Maybe you've been in a tough stretch recently that has had you feeling worried, stressed and wondering if your situation will ever change. I'm encouraging you to hold on. Your life is far too important for you to call it quits right now. Difficult roads lead to beautiful green pastures when you refuse to throw in the towel. Adapt the mindset that come hell or high water you're going to reach the promised land of your life. What you’ve gone through was never in vain because there’s a lesson in every test. You find beauty in the times you thought you weren’t going to make it but you survived. You discovered what it meant to be an overcomer. It was in those moments you found out what you were truly made of.