Press On

Let’s face it. There are days when we all have to do things we just do not want to do.

It’s not always easy to get up in the morning. You may have had:

a restless night

a child kept you up

a bad dream

“baggage” carried over from yesterday

or any number of situations which cause you to want to stay in bed.

Perhaps it isn’t what happened yesterday. Maybe there is a task you just are not looking forward to doing today. There might be a person you want to avoid at all costs. Could be a dead end job. Maybe it’s a phone call you are dreading.

Whatever it is, I think we can agree there are days we just don’t want to do the things we need to do. Everything seems more difficult on those days. Communication and interacting with anyone seems that much more labored.

Well there is some good news!

You are not alone!

You are not the first person to feel the way you do. You are probably not the only person to be feeling that way at this very moment. There are others like you who have something in their lives they are dreading.

Also, it’s okay to be feeling this way.

Often, we as people are expected to be in a constant state of feeling great. It doesn’t matter what situations surround us, other people expect us to be smiling and cheerful, ready for anything under the sky.

Or when we are allowed to feel bad, the grace period does not last very long. I’ve actually heard people say things like, “I know they went through a divorce, but that was a 6 months ago, he needs to be getting over it by now.”

Other people can easily make your “blah” days feel as if you are committing a terrible evil to those around you. You are not!

Even Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, prayed to God that He would not have to go through what He knew was going to happen. Our He had obstacles in His life he did not want to face. What a reassuring thought!

Now this is where it gets tricky. The uncertainty is normal. The lack of motivation is also normal. Everyone goes through periods of their lives when they are not quite as motivated. We all have our giants to face that we would rather not.

At some point though, we need to face the giant.

The phone call we need to make is not going to magically go away.

The conversation we need to have with an employee about his conduct at work wont resolve itself.

The chapter we are writing wont just finish itself.

Whatever it is we need to face. Whatever it is that is glaring down at us, causing us to hesitate, will continue to be there until we take care of it.

Each of us have been given certain tasks in our lives to accomplish. They can help grow our character. They can make us stronger so we can face larger problems in the future.

Whatever you are facing that you may not want to, take courage. Stand strong, and keep pushing forward. If you need to, find someone in your life who can encourage you through it. It is always better to face a trial with somebody.

I’m not trying to trivialize what you are experiencing. I understand that the situation is difficult. It may take great strength to just move through the day. But keep moving. Keep marching forward and following after God, even if it is a slow process. Even small steps are still steps forward.

I once watched an elderly couple walk back to their house from the mailbox. Each step was barely in front of the other. But there they walked, hand in hand, continuing toward home. It was a wonderful illustration, and incredibly adorable.

I know it is easy to let these situations get to us. It would be easy to sit in the driveway and decide not to continue. Don’t stop there.

Keep pushing forward. You are not alone. Take a friend’s hand, and march on.