Of course you can’t. Of COURSE you can’t!!!

Did someone tell you that you would be able to jump in and jump on and stand up on your first try?!

Who told you that lie?

I’ll be the first to tell you it’s a lie.

You need to WORK to thrive

You need to FAIL to vibe

You need to learn to stand before you can walk

You need to balance before you can glide

It’s not going to be easy. You have to build up your muscles. God gave us muscles so we could use them. So we could work them. So we could feel the soreness when we try new things. So we could stretch and grow and get up and tone and KNOW that we’re alive.

You can’t do it. Imagine if that’s all someone said to you when you were first starting out. Would it fan your flame to press on or would it justify quitting? I think it has to do with the will, the why. The motive behind doing something in the first place.

I remember driving down the highway on Route 64 and having somewhat of a vision. A bottle of shampoo fell into my lap. It fell from the sky… from heaven. It fell from God. God dropped that bottle of shampoo right into my lap. It seemed to fit in perfectly well. It seemed to fit my personality. “You can sell anything” people have always told me. It’s vegan and chemical-free; good for my body. I believe in it. I use it and love it. It has made my hair healthy. I feel good knowing that it makes me healthy.

When you’re passionate about something and love something, you light a fire underneath other people too. Passion and love are contagious. Love is the one thing that never dies. Because God is love, and God is steadfast and unchanging. And He alone stands the test of time.

But we live in a broken world. And things get difficult. Trials pop up. Hardships come around. Things can start to seem bleak or like they are never going to change. Sometimes the hardship can distract us from why we started in the first place.

Does a pregnant mother give up growing her baby because it’s too hard? God forbid.
Does a pro basketball player walk off the court mid-game because he’s having a bad night?
Does a gardener destroy his bed of flowers because he’s sick and tired of weeds popping up every day?

The answer to all three is, of course, “no”.

Because with perseverance and hard work, there eventually comes a turning point.

You try one more time… and you are able to get up. You find the sweet spot and are able to balance. You find your center of gravity and have built up your muscles enough to maintain your position.

“I’m going to have this baby if it’s the last thing I do” says the mother.
“I’m going to give every shot and pass my all before this game is over” says the b-ball player.
“I’m going to weed day after day to enSURE that my plants aren’t choked out” says the gardener.

And at that point, you’re DOING it. You’re thriving. The work is getting done.

At what point are you at? Feeling like quitting or absolutely committing?

I want to cheer you on. Keep showing up. The hardship is normal. The hardship is expected. The hardship will get you to your goal. And later down the road, I’ll be able to  say this to you:

“Aren’t you glad you didn’t quit? Aren’t you glad you kept persevering?”

BE glad you didn’t quit.
BE glad you kept persevering! Everyone on the sidelines is! Whether they know it or not. Some expected you to give up and fail. Don’t humor them. Some expected you to excel, because they believed in you. Do you believe that you’ll get there? Believe it. Get back up. Try again. Show up again. Build up your muscles. Expect to fall. Expect to fail. Expect that it’ll take hundreds of times, maybe thousands, before you’re an expert.

Experts aren’t born, they’re made. They’re created through trial after trial after trial. Loss after loss after gain after loss. It can seem futile. We’ve all been there. Press on.

“You can’t do it”. You’re right. Maybe not right away or right at first. But that’s unrealistic. Was anything worth doing ever easy?

xxx

<3

V