One of the most important lessons in parenting is to allow children to fall (or fail at something) so they can learn to get up on their own. Learning to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again (as the old song goes) is an extremely important life skill that creates self-reliant, resilient people who can persevere when life gets tough.
Too often, in our world today, adults seem to want to protect future generation(s) from the daily challenges of life and from dealing with a very diverse world. Their parenting behaviors seem to say, “Let’s surround our children with like-minded peers in gated communities with people who look and act like them. Then they will never have to encounter anything that creates adversity or challenges their worldview. This is complete nonsense, because we all know that where two or more people come together, there will be five or more opinions!
How many times has life knocked you down and how many times have you gotten back up? If you’re like me, you’ve lost count. Some of our neighbors struggle every day to put food on the table, to find a safe and healthy place to live, to take care of family and friends, to live with addictions, to get through the day with physical, mental or emotional or fighting illnesses in the mind, body or spirit.
Suffice it to say that every person I know faces challenges in their life. No matter who they are or where they come from in life, suffering and conflict are part of their lives. For some, the struggle eventually overwhelms them, they fall into despair (the belief that every day will be like today) and they end up committing suicide. Suicides are the 12th leading cause of death in the United States, and there are over 100 suicides every day! If you or a loved one are in despair or contemplating suicide, please call the helpline by dialing 988 on any phone.
Persevering when life gets tough is a learned skill. we must have learned to hope in a force that is beyond us. The apostle Paul, in his letter to believers in Rome, tells them that suffering is part of life. In fact, the persecutions had begun against believers in Christ (the followers of “The Way”) and Paul knew they would continue. The ability to spread the gospel of Jesus the Christ would require believers to persevere in a world hostile to this “good news.” In the fifth chapter, Paul writes: “…suffering produces patience, and patience produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us….”
The good news of Jesus the Christ is that we don’t have to face life’s challenges alone. God sent the Holy Spirit to be our advocate, our guide, our comforter, and our source of strength. This Spirit of unconditional love is always available to us. The blessed assurance that continues to help those who believe is that we are constantly surrounded by the love of God. God never takes a day off and is eternal – working on our behalf from our first breath to our last.
The Bible testifies to the struggle of our spiritual ancestors and to the unwavering and faithful love of God. Perseverance in this life comes through the hope that God will do the same for us. May God continue to bless you every day and help you persevere!
