Curved balls come, hit you hard in your gut, leave you gasping for air and wondering where relief will come from. Life happens, guys. From unexpected lay-off from work, a troubling diagnosis for a friend or loved one, trouble with the law, to the crumbling of a business or a devastating heartbreak and everything else in between. Sometimes, we may have contributed to these situations other times, we haven’t. But at each point we find ourselves asking the three letter word – why?
As cheesy as it sounds: This, too, will pass. ‘How?’ – It’s difficult to believe but there’s strength in you that comes alive in times of trouble. Find it and use it. You may not feel it, but its there, tucked way beneath the pain, anger, frustration and hurt.Difficulties many times are God’s wake up call, a reminder that he is right there waiting for you to draw strength from Him.
Think on these three things:
- You’re alive, you can hope: Where there is life, there is hope. Hold on to hope tenaciously, because you are already defeated if you accept that it’s over before the fight begins.The most important thing to remember is who your hope is anchored on.
- Fight for gratitude: Just as a flower can burst through ruin and rubble to shine gloriously, there are still things in your life that you can be grateful for. Gratitude helps you shift your focus. When your focus moves from what has gone wrong to the good you can find even in the situation, then you’re moving into a state where you can receive inspired solutions. Start by verbally acknowledging all the good things in your life.
- Learn the lessons: Denial can be comforting but rarely yields results. Burying your head in the sand and pretending that what’s happening isn’t happening wont make things go away. Face the issues. Do some soul-searching, if need be. Ask yourself hard questions. Most importantly, learn the lessons that you can. Make the adjustments you need to make afterwards. If you need to, talk to a counselor or therapist, finding objective view points can prove invaluable
4. Remember your response:
Life will happen but we have an opportunity to respond. Troubles times teaches us resilience and has a funny way of building character, tenacity, patience and new perspectives. Give yourself time to cry, and be reflective but remember that you also have a choice on how to respond to what life throws at you. So choose hope. Choose an uplifting perspective that is anchored on God’s word and love over you. Focus and live in that perspective and let that guide your response to life’s curve balls
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