Perseverence
Faith, hope, love and perseverance are the pillars that are at the foundation of “Puzzled.” The pillars are what brought us through and keep us moving forward to share our story with others.
On a Monday in March of 1861, a Senator from Illinois took the oath of office to be the 16th President of the United States. Abraham Lincoln took over a nation that faced many challenges, no greater one than the brink of a Civil War. What one must remember is the perseverance to just get to that day.
1818 – Mother, Nancy Lincoln dies
1828 – Sister, Sarah died along with her stillborn baby
1831 – Lost his job
1832 – Defeated for State Legislature
1833 – Failed in Business
1835 – Ann Rutledge died, women he intended to marry
1836 – Had a nervous breakdown
1838 – Defeated in run for Illinois State Speaker
1843 – Defeated in run for Congress
1848 – Defeated in run for Congress
1849 – Rejected in bid for Land Officer
1854 – Defeated in run for US Senate
1856 – Defeated for nomination of Vice President
1858 – Defeated in run for US Senate
Do you have set backs in your life? We have had countless set backs in our life. We have had 4 miscarriages, passed over for jobs, lost relationships, job eliminated and the list can go on and on. Maybe yours is a death in your family, relapses from recovery, a health condition, issues at work, never finding the right church or maybe something else.
Lincoln once said, “I am a slow walker, but I never walk back”. We are no different than Lincoln. Yes, we are no different than the 16th President of the United States. We must never walk back to keep a vicious cycle from happening.
Is life fair, no. No one ever said that life would never have trials. In the Bible, we read in James 1:2-4, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Trials and tribulations are not negative things in our life when we do not let them consume us. Look at them as an opportunity to learn, grow stronger and persevere. Showing perseverance through life is truly part of our DNA. It is up to us to understand this and use our set backs in life to help mold and shape us into what God desires.
Nothing in this world was made without perseverance. What if people stopped after their first set back when making the first computer? What if Lincoln stopped after his first defeat? What if Jesus stopped after the first person denied him?
We can do this, each one of us not being defined by defeats and setbacks. The murkiness in the world is not us. We are the flower that roots itself and plunges through the darkness and blooms the next day.
XOXO
Mark and Megan