You Can Do Hard Things

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“You can do hard things.”  I hear myself tell that to my four-year-old as he’s working on some basic life skills.  His hard things right now include putting shoes on, getting dressed and eating vegetables.  His hard things seem fairly trivial at this point in my life, but I recognize that it’s all a matter of perspective as I learn to bear patiently with him in these big pieces of his four-year-old life.

 

“You can do hard things.”  I find myself reciting this to my own heart regularly as well.  Some days the demands of motherhood threaten to overwhelm and incapacitate me.  Mix in the brokenness of the world around me, and some days I feel hopeless.  I long for the days when eating vegetables was my biggest hard thing.  Sleepless nights intertwine with the twenty pieces of life I’m clumsily juggling. And at some point, all of it crashes onto the floor.

I have a choice.  I can sit in the mess on the floor. The medical diagnosis that wasn’t what I hoped for. The relationship that seems broken beyond repair. The barrage of bad news on the TV. The endless bills. Or I can choose to stand up, to pick up the pieces, and to make something beautiful out of the mess.  Choosing to stand back up after life knocks the wind out of you is the hard thing, the brave thing.  Failing is a necessary part of life.  Suffering is a guarantee.  Not one of us is immune.

You Can Do Hard Things“You can do hard things” isn’t some catch phrase for me to put in a cute frame to gather dust.  It’s a defibrillator to my heart that so often gets stuck in “I can’t keep going.”  This wake up call to my system often comes from an encouraging word from a friend.  Even the gentle phrase “I’m sorry you are going through this” can shed light in dark places.  When I feel like I can’t keep up with all that life throws at me, nothing soothes the ache of the soul like a sister standing with me in the rubble, ready to hold my hand through the carnage.  That kind of love casts out the insidious fear we all are well acquainted with when we know we cannot hold ourselves together.  My friends have loved me and served me well during painful seasons.  They know the best medicine for my soul is a cup of coffee, a couple hours of a play date, a listening ear, and encouragement that cuts straight to the heart.

In light of this- you, mama, can do hard things.

You can bear patiently with that child that is rebellious and stubborn.  You can fight this illness.  You can wake up today, even if depression is quick on your heels and seems to wait like a lion ready to attack.  You can have that hard conversation.  You can love even when it hurts and requires sacrifice.  And you do not have to feel alone.  Your sisters are around you to grieve with you. To hold you up when you can’t stand anymore. To shine a light on places of hope in your life, and to remind you that you are courageous in whatever it is you are facing.  The critics may be ready to pounce on you at any moment, but the best kind of friend will stay close to your side. They will remind you that you are brave, courageous, and never alone.

How have you been most encouraged in the hard things of life?