
Don't You Dare Give Up. I’m not trying to undermine your struggle or be insensitive to what you are going through but I do want to remind you that everything you are going through is preparing you. Everything that you have been through and made it through prepared you for who you are today. I want you to understand that in your core.
Put your hand over your heart and press in. Feel your heart beat. That heartbeat tells you that your story is not done. You might be in the hardest time of your life. But your story is not done. You might be in the biggest storm of your life, but your story is not done. You life is not done because God is not through with you yet. As long as that heart is still beating you have a responsibility to press on.
Don’t you dare give up. If you give up, the lives that you were meant to touch will be impacted. If you give up, the purpose you were meant to live will go unlived. If you give up, the gifts that you were meant to give the world die with you. I know that we are going through one of the hardest times in our history for mental health but it’s preparing us for something better. Don’t let this season, chapter, time become your whole life. Let it just be a part of your life. Let it just be one part of your story.
You might have lost someone close to you, your dream, your job, your health but I’m here to tell you - there is more to your life. Season change. Nothing lasts forever except for giving up. Everything that you are going through is preparing you for what is meant for you. There is a bigger picture than what you are going through. You are going to understand when you get there. Don’t quit.
You are more than your pain. You are more than your struggles. You are more than your mistakes. Put your hand on your heart and force yourself to remember that you are still here for a reason. The next time you run into that pain and that struggle, ask yourself “what is this teaching me?” “How is this preparing me?”
Some of my hardest seasons in my life are the seasons that I am most thankful for. Because they made me who I am today. I’m sure you can relate to that as well. The storms are necessary, my friend. They bring appreciation for the sun. The dark times contrast the good times and make us love them more. Even if you don’t understand why you are in the pain that you are in, don’t lean on your own understanding. Lean on God. Trust that the journey is preparing you for the destination. You got this.
It all starts with you.