“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill
This quote showed up in my twitter feed last week. It reminds me of two Bible words with which I have a love/hate relationship – perseverance and endurance. These are two of the most precious, important instructions in the Christian vocabulary. Yet they are some of the hardest as well. My best friend talked with me about these words after her husband left her for another woman.
She had to uproot her life to begin again in a new state. She said that, day after day, her mantra was just to do the next thing. To take one step, then the next step, and then the next step in what felt like a never ending slog through a waist deep river rushing against her. Eventually (after 8 years or so), she slogged through the worst of it.
She didn’t emerge onto completely dry land with no struggles, but she certainly has emerged into a new season of life of much more peace and fewer intense struggles. Most of all, she has seen redemption and healing in key relationships.
1 2
