To endure and persevere...

So there are a lot of blogs I peak at regularly and one of them is the Shabby Nest. This beautiful site belongs to Wendy and she is super crafty and constantly inspires me to take something from the dollar store and make it look like a high end piece of art for my home. Love it!

On a recent post she talked about the trials of 2008 within her family and proclaimed that the word for 2009 for her family is "persevere". I read her sweet post and it got me thinking about the slippery slope of hardship vs. perseverance.

There is an ebb and flow to this silly little thing we call life. Some days we are on top of the world shouting from the mountain peaks bursting with joy. Others we are trudging through the valleys doing what we need to to get by. I'm sure over the last couple of years we've all been there - the economy and the state of the world in general can be depressing if we don't keep it all in perspective. We've all taken personal hits - some lost jobs, others houses, businesses. If you think you've gone unscathed, I'm sure you at least wanted to cry pumping gas into your car 6 months ago.... All of this is on top of the regular everyday struggles....

Several years ago I heard something during a talk at a church women's conference that stopped me dead in my tracks. It's a basic concept about enduring and persevering, but for some reason it really struck a cord with me.

The message in so many words was this:

"Enduring is simply holding on longer than the adversary."

Since then, whenever I'm faced with a tough trial, I picture myself and darker forces (in my world it's Satan) hanging from a cliff. If I let go, he wins. If I hold on a bit longer and prove to him I can rise above, I win. My added perk is that I truly believe that if we are willing, the Lord will be there to reach down and grab our hand when needed. The help over that cliff is so much easier when you trust God to help you.....

My sweet friend Tracy loved the concept as well and actually had a beautiful ring made for me with the inscription on the inside that reads "Endure longer". It came to me at a time when I was struggling and it was a great reminder when I wore it that I would make it through and rise above.

So there it is friends - go forth and conquer. "This too shall pass" - but do you want to be down in the ravine when it does? Or do you want to be the one looking down from the top of that cliff?