Hard Things

 

Sometimes, we have to do hard things.  Few people enjoy doing hard things.  There are those who thrive when facing something hard.  Those persons are rare, indeed.  Challenging is one thing, but hard is another.  Hard is a burden, obligation or necessity to follow through when you wish it could be different.  Knowing it is best for all involved and still not wanting to have to walk the road before you.  The struggle to follow through is real.

 

I think about the times when my kids were much younger.  We had times when things would move along so smoothly.  My husband and I were blessed with children who were tender-hearted, pliable, rather obedient and, generally, good.  However, just like every other parent on the planet, we faced times with each one where we couldn’t believe we had to follow through with consequences we really didn’t want to have to institute.  We were firm believers in follow through, so we knew better than threatening something we were unwilling to live out.  This didn’t preclude us from longing for it to be different when we had to apply discipline.  Hard things!

 

There have been seasons of self-discipline when I needed to make choices for myself, knowing the best option, but desiring any other course than the one which would help me.  In Hebrews 12, we learn discipline is never enjoyable at the time, but rather uncomfortable.  However, it yields peace and fruit afterwards.  By choosing self-discipline, we submit ourselves to some very hard things, yet they prove to be of great benefit.  It never makes following through easier.  Hard things can be worth it, but they are still hard.

 

Sometimes God asks us to do something hard…like forgiving.  When our hearts have been wounded by another, many varied emotions can follow.  Anger, frustration, sadness or despair can make it difficult to being open and offering forgiveness.  Remembering our own failures and shortcomings isn’t easy, but it can offer us a way to connect to our own need for forgiveness and help us extend it to others who offend us.  God asks us to do hard things because He knows what we will be receiving on the other side—freedom and peace.

 

Some hard things seem so big, requiring us to move well outside our comfort zone.   When God revealed some of the plans He was asking me to follow, I knew they would be difficult, as I didn’t believe I was wired, gifted or even equipped to fulfill them.  The word, “hard,” hung over me with such weight.  Slowly, I began to take each step He placed before me.  Trusting enough to take a step doesn’t make the step any less precarious, but it does adjust our focus to Him.  For me, all those hard steps have led to 54 posts, one per week for the past year, after the initial launch of my website.  That hard thing He asked of me…I am celebrating a year of obedience in writing to encourage others! 

 

Hard things are just that—HARD.  When we are faced with them, we have a decision to make, will we walk through them to the other side or shy away and find a road easier to traverse.  We are not made stronger, wiser or freer by trying to skip past hard things.  There is not much we have truly learned for ourselves that didn’t involve something hard.  The hard things stick with us far better than any easy thing we ever encounter.  Embrace the hard things and be looking for the blessings, which are sure to follow!