"I Quit!" - The Power to Persevere

Sadness, anxiety, fears … a cocktail of emotions spiraling down into the pit of your stomach, as you stand there immobile with your hands reaching out into nothingness. No one seems to be around to grab you, to hold on to you, to tell you everything will be okay ... Instead, you continue to descend into a pit of self-loathing.

Going through a divorce and losing a whole support system of friends can feel a bit like that … like you will never be able to crawl out of such a deep pit. When your brother passes away, your life can seem like that … like nothing will ever be “happy” again. When you are nine and you are never picked to play a game, life can also feel like that … like you’re never "good enough." 

Everyone has a season, no matter what age, where life seems “too hard;” a time of darkness where you feel you just want give up. But here’s the deal:  God is with you. He is the light at the top of that deep pit. 

During basketball season, our nine-year old had the toughest time. The coach wouldn’t play our vertically-challenged-son game after game. So after each final buzzer, he became even more discouraged. Finally, one Saturday morning when the coach only played him a few minutes throughout the entire game, he was completely distraught. Through unyielding tears he announced he was never playing basketball again. 

My motherly instincts were to instantly wrap soothing arms around him with condolences. However, it was my husband that became the hero in that moment. He didn’t offer hugs or a “there-there.” Instead he told him “no.” He informed our sobbing son that he was not going to quit basketball.

My husband then proceeded to tell a story about a young man who was cut from the high school basketball team. That boy went home, cried and locked himself in his room. But eventually, he persevered by coming out of his room, drying his tears, and trying again. (Psst ... that was Michael Jordan.)

After that story sunk in our son's mind, my husband continued with another story. This one was about a man who was arrested, beaten, betrayed by his best friend and then eventually put to death. When life starting getting tough, the man did not give up. Instead, he had faith in God’s plan. Three days later, that man, Jesus, rose from the dead and fulfilled God’s plan to save us.

There will continue to be seasons of hard times, times when you will be tempted to give up or feel sorry for yourself. However, remember that God provides perseverance. When you feel that darkness creeping into your life, recall the following:

1. What Jesus did for us. No one will ever endure more than what Jesus did for us.
2. That God has a plan. It’s God's desire for us to have faith in that plan and know that He will use those seasons to make us stronger.
3. We are not alone. God is always with us, loving us even through we continually sin. (Now that's some perseverance!)

When we teach our children to persevere, we teach them internal endurance. Teaching your children to keep going, even when they feel like giving up will bring them much success in all areas of their lives.

Last night, from my kitchen window, I watched as our nine-year old "threw hoops" on our back patio, running circles around my husband, as they prepared for the next season … 

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will be rewarded if we do not give up." [Galatians 6:9]