Keep Going

I was so ready to give up on running last week. After struggling with a Couch to 5k program for weeks, I still couldn't run for five minutes straight. I was discouraged and felt like I wasn't making any progress. And then last night, I had a breakthrough. I started a new week of training, and suddenly I was able to run five minutes without stopping... and I did it three times! I had just been on the verge of quitting, and then I was suddenly able to do what had been too hard last week.

Then I realized how true this seems to be across life situations.

It reminds me of labor, which gradually increases in difficulty... and then you get to the transition stage and it seems too hard; you just want to quit. But the truth is, when you feel like you cannot handle any more, it's actually a pretty foolproof sign that you are just around the corner from relief-- having the baby!

And I think of other situations in my life and in the lives of people I know, where we have gotten to the point that we feel like it's too hard, we have been pushed to the limit, and we just want to give up... and then, a breakthrough happens. Something changes, maybe in the situation, maybe in our own level of strength and endurance, but we turn a corner and it doesn't seem so hard anymore.

So I just want to encourage you: if you are in the place where everything feels too hard... if you are ready to give up because you don't think you can handle it anymore... keep going. Don't give up. Because you could very well be just around the corner from a breakthrough, steps away from relief. Whether you realize it or not, your endurance is building and you are becoming stronger. You can do it. Keep going!