Have you ever reached the point where you take a look at everything that’s happening (or not happening) in your life and wondered, “Why am I even trying? Why bother? It’s not like anything is going my way!”?
I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely been there. I’ve been right at the brink of things being amazing, only to have things come crashing down all around me. I’ve also been on the brink of utter ruin, unable to figure out just how I got there and with no idea how to step back from the edge.
There have been many times in my life that I’ve wondered: “Why bother?”
First, there’s the time I was in high school, and no matter what I did I couldn’t keep any friendship longer than a year. Then there’s college. I thought it would be different. However, one night I couldn’t sleep and I heard my “friends” talking in the hallway at 2 am. I was going to join them until my name popped up and they laughed at how stupid I was for thinking they actually liked me. Or how about the time I quit teaching to pursue full-time ministry only to end up jobless for a year?
These are only three examples of moments in my life that made me want to give up, I could talk about the mentally and emotionally abusive relationship I was in while in college. Or I could go into details of times I was overwhelmed with self-hate. I could tell you about so many times when every direction seemed to be filled with failure, anxiety, bitterness, and many other emotions besides.
But I won’t. Not this time. If you’ve been reading my blog for any time at all, I think you’ll guess what I want to focus on instead. If you guessed ‘hope’, way to go!
Those dark periods of my life tried to beat me down. They tried to utterly ruin my entire world.
But they didn’t.
There is an enemy in this world that will try to tear you to pieces so you just give up.
I promise: there is more worth fighting for!
Every dark time, every hurt, every negative relationship… every single thing in my life has one thing in common: they have shaped my life and made me who I am today.
I wanted to give up, but God was there to help me make it one more step – He brought me a friend, He gave me a song, He gave me the right words at the right time from people I didn’t even know.
You might not believe in my God, and right now, that’s okay! But I do challenge you to accept this truth: your life matters!!!! Your life matters and you will make it through this!
In the words of Dory from Finding Nemo, “Just keep swimming!”
If you came across this post and you’re wondering how I knew exactly what you were thinking: this message is for you. Don’t give up. Your story is not yet over.
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