How Aggravating is Your Struggle?

Resistance Stretch

 It's quite a relief when we are able to move on with our lives to a new chapter after so much sadness, grief, and turmoil. It's like being held back with a giant rubber band (think of those rubber resistance bands people use at the gym to work out) and suddenly it snaps and we are hurdled forward.

No matter how we got to where we are right now, we can definitely celebrate that we made it! Our strength and determination have led us into a far better environment where we can create something new. It's a wonderful feeling! 

The Struggle is Real
Have you ever tried to survive and raise a family on the salary of a receptionist? Many of us have, including Indra Nooyi, an Indian-American citizen. But she didn't let that stop her. After receiving schooling in India, she moved to New York with little money to continue her studies, but working as a receptionist, she was finally admitted to Yale School of Management. It was difficult, but eventually, Indra received her Master's Degree in Public and Private Management.

Struggles Are Real

The key? Indra never gave up! And that determination soon found her in 1994 as the CEO of PepsiCo where she served until 2018. During her time there, sales grew 80 percent! She also currently serves on the board of Amazon. No one can keep this woman down!    


We, too, need to hang onto those days that we fought to claim as our own! Yet, still, remember we don't live in fantasy land. As long as we are alive, we will have struggles in this life. We all understand things don't always go perfectly as we planned. The difference is that now we know we have the will to make it through whatever troubles come our way. We might even say, we have a "Masters' Degree" in Endurance. 

We may, in fact, still be working on getting settled into the best creative job for us, working on a degree, perhaps finding a new place to live, or searching for the most amazing childcare. And, of course, keeping in touch with encouraging friends and even developing new friendships. Those are all struggles but can be enjoyable if we allow that to happen.     

Faith and Hope  
So where can we turn on those days when we rather just run away? You may find this solution surprising, but the simple answer is "Stand still and stay calm." Take a breath. Most likely, we need a break at that point because fear always grabs hold of us when we are just an inch away from success!

Fear comes from our (spiritual) Enemy who wants nothing else but to destroy anything we are trying to create. So we say we should stand still and stay calm because God has a plan. He Himself will actually fight for us if we ask for His assistance. Then, we wait for God's direction for our next successful step.    
  
"The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm" (Exodus 14:14 NLT).