Don’t give up. Keep Pushing!
Photo by Brennan Martinez on Unsplash
Some months ago, I wrote a blog post about knowing when to quit. But today, I am here telling you: “Don’t give up. Keep Pushing!” An irony, right? I laughed at myself when I was about to write this piece. I have come to realize that both messages can co-exist. The presence of one doesn’t negate the other.
To a truth, I have been in phases of my life when I have had to quit because it was dangerous to continue. I have been in phases where I have had to quit, to restrategize. I have been in phases where I have had to quit, to recalibrate. But what is important is knowing “when”, so you don’t quit prematurely. As the saying goes, dawn comes just right after the darkest night.
Back to why I am writing today: I am at a phase of my life where the message is different. The motto for this phase is to keep pushing. To never give up. To know that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and no matter how much I stumble, as long as I keep going, I will surely get to the end one day. Deep down I am so sure that this is not the time to quit but to keep pushing.
You are probably familiar with how the pangs of childbirth are described. That’s how I feel. I feel like I can’t afford to stop pushing now. I feel like this is a season that is birthing a new me; that is birthing a new assignment; that is birthing clarity and redirection, and everything that has happened to me was just necessary for my growth— It was a pruning process for what is to come.
Knowing this doesn’t make the challenging times any easier to bear but it gives me the hope and strength to keep showing up each day. For someone out there too who has recognized that there is too much at stake to quit, I hope you never quit. I hope you keep pushing. It might seem difficult but I bet the reward of not giving up is much more.
You might wonder how I am surviving these tough times and how you can too. I have just 4 major tips:
Reminding myself of God’s love for me even on days when I don’t feel it. If you are not sure about His love for you, let me tell you this today. God is madly in love with you. Read Rom 8:38-39. There is absolutely nothing that can separate us from God’s love. Not our fears, not our worries, neither death nor life. Absolutely nothing
Soaking myself in scriptures, worship songs, messages and the promises of his word (I will probably make a list of all the scriptures, messages and songs in one of my posts)
Surrounding myself with people who give me the strength to keep pushing and believing each day
Finding something to be grateful for each day and dwelling on it. Because the truth is no matter how hard the times are, there is always something to be thankful for
The difficult times are just temporary phases of life, and not only will they pass, but we will grow stronger through them. Then, we will be able to offer comfort and empathy to others in similar situations.
