Perseverance

One of the East Nasties has a bumper sticker that says “Run Happy.” I don’t.  Run happy, that is. Some people are built to run – I am not.  I really do not enjoy running.  Even after dedicating myself for months, pulling myself out of bed every Saturday AND Sunday morning, and watching my mileage…

Did Sly stop with “Rocky IV”? Did Nadia Suleman call it quits after 6 kids? Did having brothers named Track and Trig prevent Bristol Palin from naming her son Tripp? No. And in the same way, bucking common sense and what might seem like an obvious result… did the demise of my temp-job in this…

Today, I’m wearing all black. My high heels are caked with mud from my front yard. I feel significantly un-cute. I’m in a bad place financially – but this is no one’s fault but mine. I haven’t gotten enough sleep. I’ve made some really terrible decisions. I’ve slacked on my running schedule this week, and…

When the calendar flips to January 1, it’s popular amongst bloggers to post an “end of the year” or a “looking ahead to the new year” post. This year, I didn’t do either. I don’t know – I just wasn’t feeling it.But now, just over 2 weeks late, I am ready. 2008 was dubbed the…

At church on Sunday night, the pastor mentioned that in all of his interactions with people of my generation, the overwhelming majority of us feel apathetic and bored. I know that I do – at least, very often I do. We’re all wrestling with the questions, “What is my purpose?” “What am I good at?”…

This morning here at work, there are four repairmen walking in and out of the lobby – in and out, in and out – carrying ladders, tool kits, wire, and generally, looking confused. I have no idea what they’re doing – but they keep climbing ladders and removing the ceiling tiles and disappearing from the…

Sometimes, life feels really hard. Whether it’s tedious or tumultuous, uneventful or unrelenting, it’s difficult to keep focused on what I know to be true. I become distracted by my circumstances, and let whatever way I currently feel dictate my beliefs. I give up.I give in.I lose hope.I lay down.I stop trying. I once heard…

We are all responsible for our own happiness. Not to say that life isn’t going to throw us some catastrophic curve balls, or major disappointments, or unjust circumstances. These letdowns are inevitable, and if you haven’t been hit yet, then you will be someday. Pain and discouragement are a part of life, and there is…

Some days, it’s easy to wake up and be excited about life. There are things happening. There’s stuff going on. There is a resolve, and a hope, and an expectation. There is the possibility that this might be the day that changes the rest of your life. But a lot of days feel like today….

I don’t understand why there has to be so much pain, so much fear, so much weight. But there is. Just look around: our world is cracked and bleeding and broken. I turned on the news last night, but had to turn it off again – my brain simply could not handle more problems. I…