Tag: Never Give Up

Thankfulness While Grieving

Today’s a new day! Today is also Thanksgiving Day. I have many things to be thankful for, but I am also grieving the death of a loved one. This has been a hard week.

It can be difficult to be thankful when you’re in a season of grieving. When you experience the loss of a loved one you begin to wonder if you will ever feel happy again. It is hard to be thankful when you are hurting. The Bible is not silent on the issue of suffering. The Bible is full of scriptures and stories about suffering.

Giving thanks to God during times of grief is difficult, but not impossible. In fact, it is one of the best ways of progressing towards hope while you are grieving. How can you be thankful during times of grief? I believe Remembering , Reflecting , and Rejoicing can guide us through a season of loss and grief.

First, take time to remember. Remember all the truths about God you have been taught and believe. Do not doubt in the darkness what you have clearly seen in the light. One of the results of the grieving process is that our minds become absorbed with that one thing. It is so important that you force yourself to remember key foundational truths about God. Remember that He loves you. Remember that He is in control. Remember that He is always working good; even in the bad circumstances. While grieving, you may not want to hear someone quote Romans 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” But, remember that it is true. 

Second, take time to reflect. Reflect on your current situation, but do not dwell on it. What’s the difference between reflecting and dwelling? Think of it like a house. When you dwell in a house you live in it. Dwelling on the cause of your grief is like going back to the situation and living there as you relive it over and over. When you reflect, you think deeply and carefully about something. Going back to the house illustration, rather than dwelling in the house, you sit outside the house and look in. Reflecting is different because it gives you time to grieve and realize that your life has changed and there will be a new reality moving forward.

Remember, there is no set timeframe for you to stop grieving. Please hear that. Grief has no timeline. In one sense, you will never stop grieving until you are given your new body and dwelling with God in Heaven. The purpose in grieving well is not to stop grieving, but to begin grieving with hope.

When we are grieving we are overwhelmed by our emotions. Our emotions are powerful and have great control over us, so we are told in the Bible to take control of them. We do this by guarding our heart. Proverbs 4:23, “Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” The heart is the essence of who we are. It is more than just emotions. It is the command center of your life. It directs our emotions.

Through grief and mourning we must remember to guard our hearts.

Third, take time to rejoice. In the middle of your mourning, allow your heart and mind to remember some of the beautiful moments and memories. That can be difficult in the midst of a loss or a difficult season in life. But the fact that God has brought us this new day means that we can rejoice and be glad in it. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. This verse does not teach us that every circumstance is good, but that God is good. This is not always easy, but we must continue to lean into this truth.

So today take some time to Remember, Reflect, Rejoice

*Remember all the truths about God you have been taught and believe. 

*Reflect and give yourself time to grieve. Guard your heart so that you do not believe lies but trust God.

*Rejoice in the Lord who is powerfully and purposefully at work.

If you are grieving, trust God. Consider the story of Martha from John 11. Martha had just lost her brother and was grieving. When she saw Jesus she said to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21). Martha then said something very profound. Martha said, “But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You” (John 11:22). Martha serves as an example of a godly person hurting yet trusting. So today, allow God to help you give thanks in all circumstances on this Thanksgiving Day. ~OC

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Not About Me

Today’s a new day! This crazy beautiful health journey is not about me. It’s not to show you how strong I am, for my strength comes from God. It’s not to show you how great my faith is, for my faith is a gift from God. And it’s not to show you how courageous I am, for my courage comes from God… exactly at the time I need it. Anything you see in me that is good is not of my doing… it’s from Heaven. ~OC

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Bold Courage

Today’s a new day! Let’s face our fears with bold courage. Let’s fully embrace life, whether young or old. Let’s stand tall, let our light be bright, shining through the darkest moments. Let’s live with strength, never yielding. Let courage conquer and truth reveal. ~OC

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Dear…,

Today’s a new day!

Dear……,

I want you to know, first and foremost, how special you are. Those are not words to make you feel better. Whether you realize it or not, your life matters.

I want you to know how you light up the world with your smile when you show it off. So please, show it off more. You use more of your face muscles when you smile, so stretch it out so wide that it hurts and remember when you grow old and see wrinkles around your mouth that you got them from smiling.

I know people are trying to reach out to you to tell you that everything is going to be alright and that they’re there for you. Please – and I cannot stress this enough – do not push them away or shut them out. You may not want to hear it, but those family members, friends, and coworkers are there for you and would do anything to help.

So, give them a chance even when you don’t think they’ll understand your pain. You’ll never know if you do not let them in. You’re feeling alone right now. So alone that you don’t think anyone can see all the pain you’re going through.

I want you to know I see you, okay? I can see the pain written all over your face because I know the look of someone trying so hard to pretend like they’re alright when they’re crumbling on the inside. You’re not alone, you have people in your life, and even people you didn’t see coming, who are more than willing to reach out and be there for you.

I know you feel like you cannot get through this current storm. I know it seems like your world is crumbling all around and you cannot find the strength to get back up. Your days are spent isolated in your house, and you cannot eat, sleep or find the strength to move from the comfort and safety of your bed. You have lost the ambition to go outside and breathe in the fresh air. Can I share a little truth with you? I have been where you’re at. I did a pretty good job hiding it, so most people even those closest to me didn’t even notice it. Some days I was barely holding on.

So, I encourage you to hang in there. You’re important to this world and have so much talent and so many amazing ideas to give. You have a light inside you that lights up the world. So keep holding on.

Please, continue to take one day at a time. Keep leaning into the loving arms and promises of God. It’s so easy to want all the answers right this moment, but this life is not a 30 minute tv show. I would love to give you a quick fix, but that could possibly rob you of some amazing lessons God is trying to teach you in this moment. But I can promise you this. We will get through this together. Keep holding on. ~OC

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Quiet Strength

Today’s a new day! Walking through the tough moments of life requires what I call quiet strength. This is a strength that allows us to get back up when life knocks us down. This is a strength that allows us to hold on when we want to let go. This is a strength that powers through when it would be easier to quit. This quiet strength isn’t always pretty, but it’s strong. This quiet strength will leave scars. But the beautiful thing about this quiet strength is that it never gives up.

The life that God has called you to live requires a quiet strength and a deep down in the soul determination to keep pushing forward. To keep fighting.

This quiet strength from God defies logic and can grow in the most unlikely people. Like you and me.

So today, allow that quiet strength to guide you through another day. Don’t give up. Dig deep and keep living. Keep thriving.

Today, draw strength from God and keep living out the purpose he has planned for your life. ~OC

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Here For You

Today’s a new day!

When the nights are long and sleep is a distant memory and your days are full of dark cloudy memories, I will be here for you

When the world feels like it’s moving a million miles an hour and you want to jump off, I will be here for you

When the world seems to have forgotten you and moved on, I will be here for you

When the doctors give you little hope your friends can’t be found, I will be here for you

When you feel alone in this broken and dark world, I will be here for you

When the rest of the world calls you crazy because you go against the grain, I will be here for you

When you decide to question everything you been taught and your friends and church question your faith, I will be here for you

When your lifestyle doesn’t align with those of your family and friends, I will be here for you

When you decide to speak up and be bold, I will be here for you

When the rest of the world misses out on your beauty and promise, I will be here for you

When you need to laugh or cry, I will be here for you

When the world thinks your ideals are but a pipe dream, I will be here for you

When your journey takes you down a winding and uncertain road, I will be here for you

When you need a second or hundredth chance, I will be here for you

You never have to walk this journey alone, I will walk with you anyway you need me to

I never want to miss a chance to show you, I will always be here for you

It’s gonna be okay, I will be here for you

I’ll be here, I’ll be here

Anyway you need

I’ll be here for you

~OC

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Beautiful Light

Today’s a new day! Overcoming fears, doubts, and pain, you rise above, stronger and wiser still. With every step, with every fall, you learn to stand, to rise, to conquer all. Keep pushing forward, don’t give up the fight, you’ll shine brighter, emerging in the beautiful light. ~OC

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You Matter!

Today’s a new day! You may not realize it or feel it now, but you inspire people just by being you. It may seem what you’re going through right now is too overwhelming, but your breakthrough is coming. You have touched so many lives. So today is not the day to give up. Because there is somebody out there that needs your smile, your laughter and your encouraging words. They need you. So today, I want you to keeping fighting, to keep pushing through those tough moments. I want to encourage you that these hard days are just temporary. This journey called life is not always easy, but it’s worth living. Even through those tough moments. Life is better with you in it. I pray your day is filled with amazing moments and God’s blessings. ~OC

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My NYC Marathon Experience…Almost

Today’s a new day! The New York City Marathon is this morning. I will watch it on tv and root for each of the runners. I will also spend a moment reflecting on my NYC Marathon experience that never happened.

Back in 2010, I should have been in New York City with the other 45,344 runners competing that day. But on that Sunday morning, I was in the hospital fighting for my life. It would be another nine years before I would even have the ability to lace up my running shoes and attempt to run. Unfortunately, that would be a short lived experience as my health took another turn for the worse.

I still look back on my running days more with a smile than I do with disappointment, but I must admit missing that 2010 NYC Marathon is still one of my biggest regrets of my running career. The opportunity to be at the starting line with thousands of other runners, to experience the excitement of hearing the starting gun go off, to run through the streets of NYC with thousands of people cheering the runners on and crossing that finish line is a memory I miss from my running days. It is a moment I will always wonder about.

But this Sunday morning, like I have been doing for many years, I will be watching and cheering on each of the runners blessed with the amazing opportunity to run the NYC Marathon. There will also be a moment where I will imagine myself running through the finish line with my arms raised high. You can never really take the runner out of the runner.

Best wishes for all of the runners fulfilling your dreams of running in the NYC Marathon today. Embrace every minute of every single mile. I will be cheering you on. Go Get It! ~OC

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In the Boat

Today’s a new day! At one point during my beautiful life, my friendship list looked like a big cruise ship. Many people laughing and having fun. Life was great. Then I got sick and the boat began to get smaller. Of course that was tough to endure, but God gave me peace.

Then I experienced a beautiful miracle and all of the sudden the boat started getting bigger, but most of the relationships were not real. They were based on what God had done in my life. People cared more about the miracle than they did about me. Once again tough to endure, but God guided me through this trial. He even told me on a walk one early morning, that my inner circle would get even smaller. There would be fewer people sitting in my boat. This did not scare me. It actually gave me great peace.

Then a few months ago, I was diagnosed with dementia and more friends jumped off the boat. This time I was prepared for it. Less phone calls checking in or returning my calls or text. God had clearly prepared me for this time. That does not mean there was not some pain and disappointment. It hurt. Thankfully God continues to carry me through this season.

As I continue to walk through this crazy beautiful journey called life, I cling to the friends who have decided to stay in the boat with me. The ones who actually reach out to me without any prompting and reassure me they are never leaving the boat regardless of how big the waves get. We will endure together. How blessed I am to have these people in the boat with me. Beautiful bright lights to travel with on this beautiful symphony called life. It brings me great encouragement as I move through the different seasons of life.

As I wrote the words above, I realized I have never needed rescuing from the boat. God has always been in the boat with me. He has never thought about abandoning me. Once again, I am thankful for those God has chosen to ride the waves with me in the boat. But more importantly, my hope and peace comes from God who created the boat and me. The One who can calm the raging seas with just a whisper.

As you walk through the storms of life, look around and see who’s still in the boat with you. When you find them cherish them. Never take your tribe for granted. During the storms of life, learn to sit in the boat with others. Embrace those in the boat. Encourage those in the boat. Empower those in the boat. Live life together in the boat. ~OC

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