Hard Things

Photo by Jean Carlo Emer from Unsplash

Those before us did hard things when hard things were thrust upon them. We can do hard things, too, including when we are uncertain about how hard or how long they will be. Or what form they may take at any point in time. Or exactly what will be required for us to be strong enough to survive, and ultimately thrive. 

Our present concerns probably focus on ourselves and our visible family members, and justifiably so.  Yet, we can look back a couple generations and not only learn a great deal from the lives of those who came before us, but also gain great strength from the examples of those who found a way to face the impossible, regardless of the apparent outcome of their efforts.

Little do we know what ultimate fruit our imperfect efforts in unforeseen circumstances may bear.  In the moment, it is appropriate to focus on meeting our own immediate needs and those of our loved ones. Yet, how little we are able to see, now, how our determination to carry on will influence those we cannot see—those whom we will yet live to see born, but even more, those who will come after them—who may know us, and those before us, only by the stories that we leave behind.

May we live stories that will lend strength to those who follow us. And, may we preserve the stories that we (and those who have come before us) have lived so that they may strengthen those who come after.