Recently, my family and I went through a very grueling trial;
we went for months at a time without the required overnight nursing care for
our severely disabled son, Malachi. We
had to let go of one of his overnight nurses and the nursing agency had trouble
finding a replacement. As a result, my
husband and I resumed the overnight care for Malachi; we split the nights in
half and did what we needed to do to care for our beloved son. And while our overnight nursing care coverage
still has some gaps in the schedule, things are far better now. Both my husband and I work. It was quite a challenge to stay up half the
night and then have to go into work the next day, parent our older teenage son,
manage our household, nurture our marriage and try to take care of
ourselves! After weeks of not having
consecutive night care, sleep deprivation began to take its toll on my body, my
mind and my spirit. I felt weak and broken. There were moments, late in the
night, when I felt the separation between my mind and my spirit; moments when
my thoughts turned dark and my spirit lost all hope. I am a person of great faith; I believe that
God’s love for us is immeasurable and that His grace and mercy will see us
through any trial. In times of despair,
I rely on my faith to sustain me. While going through this rough patch, I
thought back to the last time our nursing support suffered grossly and even
though it felt like we wouldn’t make it through, we did! Somehow, some way, we
found the strength to make it through.
At some point or
another, we all have trials that we experience in life and our resilience as a
family is tested. How strong are you? Are you strong enough to stand for the
battle? Trials challenge us to discover what lies beneath; what reserve can we
draw from to sustain our faith? I am convinced that the answer lies within each
of us – it is our ability to be STRONG. Strength is innate; we were born with the
attribute of strength – God gave it to us! Moreover, God commands us to be strong. In the
book of Joshua, Joshua is appointed by God to lead the Israelites across the
Jordan River. Three times in this passage, God reminds Joshua of His command to
be strong and courageous.
“Have I not commanded
you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for
the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
Joshua could have chosen not to accept his assignment; he
could have given in to his fears, anxiety and stress and disobeyed God’s
command. We have the power to choose to
be strong – or not. When we choose to be
strong, we are choosing to use our innate gift and we are being obedient to
God’s command. The battles we fight in life are our assignments from God.
The way I see it, we have two choices.
We can be strong and courageous like Joshua and fight the battle. Or, we can give in to our fears, anxieties
and stress and accept defeat. Either
way, the choice lies within you.
Whenever you and your family are struggling with the choice to be strong
or not, I want you to remember an old saying: “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t!” Somewhere in your spirit, you know that you
are strong because it’s innate; it’s in you, God gave it to you. Choose what you know that’s in you and not what’s
outside of you. CHOOSE TO BE STRONG!
