After much contemplation about the direction my life had taken I was slowly beginning to think “ok….I have CLEARLY pissed God off!!” How is it possible that all these people out here who obviously don’t have intentions as good as mine, who don’t work as hard as I do to be productive or help others along the way are all thriving while I’m left behind?!? What have I done to deserve the difficulty that I am facing? In other words….NO FAIR!!!!
My guess is that nobody wants to hear another motivational speech about how the challenges we face are only there to make us stronger! I sure don’t. Instead, I intend to take another approach. The truth is, nobody’s life is peaches and cream all the time. Just ask Kanye West, he is calling himself a Douche Bag to get back into the good graces of his fans after what seems to have been a very rough patch in his life. The purpose of this message is to remind us (myself included) to get over our delusional thinking that we somehow can skip the step of having a cross to bear.Crosses come in many forms. Last week I spoke about single women, and some of you may be asking why me. Others may have lost a job, or a parent, or something that you consider near and dear or sacred. Maybe you have a child born with a severe health condition and a long road ahead. Whatever the cross, they all seem like impossible, insurmountable obstacles that we may never get over. Though I would love to tell you that you will, I vowed to always tell the truth. So…..will you move beyond this difficult time in your life or are you doomed to live this situation out as your reality forever? The answer is that the choice is yours. I know what you’re thinking “I knew she was going to say that!” but it’s true!!
Consider this…would your life not be pretty darn close to perfect if that one thing you were struggling with would just go away? Yes, you may have some other things that are not all the way in place, but they don’t serve as a thorn in your side the way your “cross” does. When you think about it, it’s rather ridiculous to realize that one thing in your life not going the way you want can be blamed for the anguish you have been feeling. There came a time that I had to ask myself…why do you deserve to live a perfect life? Why is it your privilege to live struggle free, but not others? Most importantly, if you are not striving, how are you growing? The bare bones of shedding old skin and developing a thicker new one cannot be accomplished without wiggling around in the dirt somehow!
So after drying my tears and putting a new coat of mascara on, I realized that I better get on with learning this lesson, not to prolong the test! A very dear friend of mine lost her sister in the prime of her youth. She had the opportunity to sink into depression, and turn away from her lofty goals of becoming a Cancer Researcher, but oddly enough, she kept going. Soon after the loss of her sister, she became pregnant while in graduate school. So here we have a grieving, unwed, soon-to-be single mother, who is about to move away from her entire support group to complete a very difficult graduate program. She never stopped, and not once did I ever hear her complain. The product of her misery is a beautiful daughter who now has a wise, highly educated, and well-adjusted mother to look up to. How could she be all these things to this baby had she not turned on her flashlight during her darkest hour, and kept walking? To this day, I don’t know how this young lady finds the courage to press on, but it is in her story that I find strength. Had she not experienced all of these things in such a hard hitting and unforgiving way, I would still be looking at my situation and saying “I have clearly pissed God off!”
Advice corner:• Get a hold of yourself! Your struggle may not be for you. It just might be for the benefit of someone else. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to see it through and become whoever you are supposed to be on the other side of it.
• If you refuse to learn the lesson, you WILL repeat the test! So make a conscious effort to “get it!”
• Remember that people are watching you (this includes your children) you have a wonderful opportunity to show true grace under fire.
• Misery loves company, so be carefull when chosing your company!
My guess is that nobody wants to hear another motivational speech about how the challenges we face are only there to make us stronger! I sure don’t. Instead, I intend to take another approach. The truth is, nobody’s life is peaches and cream all the time. Just ask Kanye West, he is calling himself a Douche Bag to get back into the good graces of his fans after what seems to have been a very rough patch in his life. The purpose of this message is to remind us (myself included) to get over our delusional thinking that we somehow can skip the step of having a cross to bear.Crosses come in many forms. Last week I spoke about single women, and some of you may be asking why me. Others may have lost a job, or a parent, or something that you consider near and dear or sacred. Maybe you have a child born with a severe health condition and a long road ahead. Whatever the cross, they all seem like impossible, insurmountable obstacles that we may never get over. Though I would love to tell you that you will, I vowed to always tell the truth. So…..will you move beyond this difficult time in your life or are you doomed to live this situation out as your reality forever? The answer is that the choice is yours. I know what you’re thinking “I knew she was going to say that!” but it’s true!!
Consider this…would your life not be pretty darn close to perfect if that one thing you were struggling with would just go away? Yes, you may have some other things that are not all the way in place, but they don’t serve as a thorn in your side the way your “cross” does. When you think about it, it’s rather ridiculous to realize that one thing in your life not going the way you want can be blamed for the anguish you have been feeling. There came a time that I had to ask myself…why do you deserve to live a perfect life? Why is it your privilege to live struggle free, but not others? Most importantly, if you are not striving, how are you growing? The bare bones of shedding old skin and developing a thicker new one cannot be accomplished without wiggling around in the dirt somehow!
So after drying my tears and putting a new coat of mascara on, I realized that I better get on with learning this lesson, not to prolong the test! A very dear friend of mine lost her sister in the prime of her youth. She had the opportunity to sink into depression, and turn away from her lofty goals of becoming a Cancer Researcher, but oddly enough, she kept going. Soon after the loss of her sister, she became pregnant while in graduate school. So here we have a grieving, unwed, soon-to-be single mother, who is about to move away from her entire support group to complete a very difficult graduate program. She never stopped, and not once did I ever hear her complain. The product of her misery is a beautiful daughter who now has a wise, highly educated, and well-adjusted mother to look up to. How could she be all these things to this baby had she not turned on her flashlight during her darkest hour, and kept walking? To this day, I don’t know how this young lady finds the courage to press on, but it is in her story that I find strength. Had she not experienced all of these things in such a hard hitting and unforgiving way, I would still be looking at my situation and saying “I have clearly pissed God off!”
Advice corner:• Get a hold of yourself! Your struggle may not be for you. It just might be for the benefit of someone else. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to see it through and become whoever you are supposed to be on the other side of it.
• If you refuse to learn the lesson, you WILL repeat the test! So make a conscious effort to “get it!”
• Remember that people are watching you (this includes your children) you have a wonderful opportunity to show true grace under fire.
• Misery loves company, so be carefull when chosing your company!
Be Blessed!
~Coach Jessica
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