I had this thought last night right after I got in bed... eager to fall asleep and rest, I quickly turned my lamp back on and jotted "hard is not bad" on a pad of sticky notes next to my bed for this very purpose. (I probably should have done this TWO nights ago... instead I just lay awake for an hour with my mind racing!)
There's a difference between saying "I'm going to have a hard day," and "I'm going to have a bad day." OR... "This test will be bad/hard," "Life is hard/bad," "Relationships are hard/bad." Not everything that is HARD is also BAD. The reason why it's important not to confuse the two is because of the connotation of - the feelings associated with - each word. I need to separate them in my mind because if I go into a day/test/life/relationship assuming that it will be BAD, then I already have a negative outlook and will continue in that (which will effect my words/actions) negativity unless I consciously change my habits/thought patterns. At the same time, I need to recognize that it's okay that things are hard. It's okay. Hard means I can't do it on my own. Hard means I need Jesus to guide me through the muck. Hard means there is a need to be vulnerable with a community of believers. Hard means it will be easier to recognize the goodness of God contrasting with... everything else. A hard week means a restful weekend is ahead. ;-)
Hard means challenging, pushing, striving, growing, learning, seeking, and persevering and ALL of these things are a part of the process of making us more and more like Jesus.
Nice insight as always! The thing that I always remember is that nothing is ever as hard as it initially seems. At least in my experience. The first step is the hardest, but once you begin and carry out a plan then it's really not THAT hard. I can look backs at classes/tests/times I had to be bold and see that it wasn't as scary or hard as it seemed before I began. It just took that first step. I often have to remind myself of this. Sometimes you just have to leap, knowing that God is there to help you through if you obey and trust him and that the community around you is there to help too!
ReplyDeleteThat is very true! It's easy to get caught up in the "what ifs" and other ambiguous questions before we actually step into something and realize it's not as bad as we imagined...
ReplyDeleteThat's why I love community!!!