be strong!

be strong!
for we are not here to play, dream or drift!
we have hard work to do and loads to lift
shun not the struggle, for it is GOD'S GIFT
be strong!

as i sit here watching the olympics and repeatedly hear the story of joannie rochette, an olympic skater whose mother passed away just the night before she first took the ice...and 4 days later, had won a bronze medal, i was reminded of december 12, 2001, the day my father died. i was finishing up my first semester of grad school, and had a final in microeconomics scheduled just two days later on december 14th. though my father went through an illness throughout 2001, the reality of never seeing him again, never talking to him again, and losing my bestest friend sunk in, and hit me HARD. my only concern was getting a flight home, so i could somehow conjure up his presence, feel his spirit and remember the random phone calls where i would answer the phone and he'd say, 'hey good lookin! was just calling to let you know that daddy loves you.'

yet, in still, through my grief, i realized that despite the unchangeable circumstances, my father would have wanted me to not only take the final, but get an A. econ being one my least favorite subjects would not have mattered, and as he had told me the entire time up until the week before his death when he could no longer speak, i had to rise to the occassion, meet the challenge, and do my best. and so, like joannie, i shoved grief aside and did what i had to do, ultimately making an A- in the course. i couldn't help but smile once i received my grade, knowing that daddy was pleased.

while the situation with joannie and my situation are a bit different, it still follows that all of us have an inner strength to continue going forward DESPITE whatever circumstances threaten to strangle us. it is important that no matter WHAT the situation...crazy bosses, crazier co-workers, bad kids, unemployment, mounting debt, bad relationships... we remember that we are MORE than our situations. while many things can be overwhelming, many times it is fear of failure or making our situations worse that keeps us cemented in place, and from continuing to move into the blessing that God has waiting for us. be reminded of 2 timothy 1:7 ~ "for God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." find that which is inside of you that allows you to move...and JUST DO IT! be STRONG!