Beauty in the Struggle

There are times in our lives when we’re put through hell.

For some of us, this is a place where we live, and it’s comfortable. For others, it’s a feeling like the end of everything that we are, and yet for more, it’s that place where we get lost.

No matter which you are, this place hurts.

But in the immediacy of all the pain that it causes there is a lesson of resilience if we allow it.

As I identify many moments, okay let's be real, all moments in my life, with a song, times like these are no different.

I sent a song to a wonderful person recently called Beauty in the Struggle by Bryan Martin. There are many ways you could take this song, as you could with many brilliantly written songs.

But as the title denotes, there is beauty in the struggle.

When we have to fight and claw for not only what we have, but that last piece of us that we’re so desperate to hang onto, we can get lost in the beauty of what that pain and struggle is.

With all that’s been going on in my life recently, I’ve had a lot of people worrying about me.

This is something that I’ll always be thankful for. It means that I’m loved. What more can someone ask for?

We are all going to be knocked down, we’re going to be hit and hit hard.

But it’s up to us if we decide to stay in the dirt, muck, and blood of that hit. There isn’t anything wrong if that’s what you choose, it’s just not how I’m built.

I’ll always choose to stand up, usually without dusting myself off and screaming into the wind at whatever knocked me on my ass and say, “Bring it on!”

But that’s me. My way isn’t for everyone. But sometimes it is. Sometimes you need to break the mold of what is expected.

I’ve done many things in my life that I’m not proud of, but I’ve done even more than I am. Yet the former weighs on me more than the latter, and that I will carry.

It’s also what is remembered more. That’s just how things are. You remember a house burning down rather than the memories that were built in the house before the fire was lit.

But if there is anything I’ve learned in this wonderful, painful, twisted, tormented journey we call life, it’s this. We can stand or run. Some call it flight or flight, but to me, that’s too clinical. You either run, or you find the strength, dig in, and fight for that place in your life you know you deserve.

That one moment of clarity in a thousand distresses.

It’s the comfort in chaos.

There are things we can control and so many more that we can’t. We work through those things we can control, and we push through the rest.

I mean what is the alternative really? Giving up? That’s not an alternative. At least not for me.

God gave us the ability to choose for ourselves, but what so many forget is that He gave us the strength to push and pull through anything that we are faced with.

We were never promised anything easy. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be worth it.

Let’s be real about some things with me for a moment. Parts of my personal life are in shambles, yet other parts of it are stronger than they’ve ever been. My professional life is teetering back and forth, yet there are opportunities for great things in the future.

And in the midst of all the tears, dirt, grime, and cursing that I’ve thrown at God, He sat reminding me that He’ll fight every fight I have alongside me. All I must do is ask.

I’ve asked, and with that, I know I’ll never be unable to get back up

Until the day comes that God says I can go home, I’ll take the punches, the pain, the bruises, and the burns. Because I know that for a temporary moment of despair, I can find a lifetime of solace.

Don’t ever think that you’re alone. You aren’t.

Don’t ever think you aren’t worth it. You are.

Don’t ever wonder if there is Beauty in the Struggle. Because there is.

Beauty resides in every single moment that God gave us.

We weren’t promised easy.

We were told there would be challenges.

We are expected to fight, but accepted if we don’t.

I’d implore you to fight though.

It’s worth it in every way,

Honor, integrity, faith. We need to hold steadfast to those things.

When you are beaten, know you can get back up.

When everything you gave up turns from you, know you can gain more.

Yet with all that, remember what you loved about those things, and fight for that.

Fight for you, fight for others. There isn’t anything better.

Just remember what you’re fighting for.

Recently there has been so much pain, but I had a moment this last week where I realized something. When others say goodbye, it doesn’t mean I have to. When others give in, it doesn't mean I have to give up. Even if they never know what I’m feeling or thinking.

I’ll know there is beauty in the struggle.