Strong character...
Joy Challenge day 9
Strong character comes from the pressing and the breaking.
It’s easy to give your best effort when the sun is out and a perfect, cool breeze blows. But what about in the in the cold and pouring rain? Will you give your best effort then?
It is the strength and ability to take the cards you have been dealt and be determined to use them for the good.
It isn’t easy, building strong character. And it certainly is a journey that is never complete. It typically means taking the road less traveled or going against the grain of what the “world” tells us we should do, be, or think. It comes from going through hard things and sitting with others while they go through hard things too. It comes from letting go of our own wants and desires and instead opening our eyes to the needs of others around us.
Tonight, I watched a bunch of 8 and 9 year old boys train hard. They didn’t stop because it was cold and the fields were wet. They didn’t stop when it began to pour rain either.
They kept going.
Their character and strength was tested. They could have cried or begged to stop. But they didn’t. They took the cards they were dealt and played hard in spite of it.
They were pressed down, but didn’t crumble.
We could learn a lot from these boys and from their coaches.
When was the last time you were pressed down? Did you crumble? Did you snap at a referee or judge when something didn’t go your way? Or did you shake their hand and thank them for being there?
What about if your order was wrong at a restaurant? Or if you had to wait in a long line?
The strength and quality of your character shows when you are pressed.
Today was hard. Brady didn’t feel well at all. He didn’t get off the couch except to go to the restroom. Cooper just started with his very first cold and is feeling pretty crummy. Aubrey ended up at Children’s and is in a boot/splint because of possible stress fractures in her foot. And Blake? Well, Blake is the only one holding on at the moment.
Today was pressing. I sat there watching those boys and my heart was grateful for a team that doesn’t quit. Life lesson like these are so important on days like this.
Pressed down, but refusing to crumble.
For our our joy challenge today we helped someone else with their goal. We bought five different toys to be donated to Children’s Hospital to help a fellow Pride SC family with a mission of bringing awareness to Childhood Cancer and the effects that it has on kids on the 12th floor after their son defeated the disease a couple years ago.
Pressed.
Life can be pressing. What are you going to do with it?
My prayer is that this pressing will bring out a new, and better, version of myself. In fact, I pray that the pressing you are going through will do the same for you as well.
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed.”
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