Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

don’t give up

and don’t give in

get up, try again

there’s another way

to mount that horse

a new day

round the bend

crash through forests

break down walls

whatever you do

don’t let yourself stall

go all out

drive it home

won’t let that dream get cold

you’ve got this

we all know it

there’s always hope

can’t you feel it

rest if you must

for a day or two

then go my friend

in the strength of the Lord

you must not quit.

 

~Marcie Bridges

©27 April 2022

 

 

Six weeks to go. Just six weeks. Breathe in. Breathe out.

 

I couldn’t do it. Ready to quit, I turned off my computer, shut my books, closed my notebooks, and pushed my pencil out of the way.

 

Nope. Not happening. I was done.

 

Putting my head down, I thought about the next few months and years. And a question popped into my mind, “If you quit now, how will you feel in six months? If you quit now, how will you feel a year from now?”

 

And I knew the answers right away. I would be unhappy. I would feel like a failure. I would think about all the time, effort, and money put into my schooling; not to mention all the people who had supported me to this point.

 

Sigh. What should I do?

 

Slowly I exhaled, called my best friend, listened as she poured encouragement back into my thirsty soul, then went to bed.

 

After a good night of sleep, I was ready to try again. And I did. But first, I did some things to get back into the groove:

 

1. I found a bible verse to put in front of me. I chose Jeremiah 32:27, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?”

 

2. I asked friends and family to be on a special prayer team with me. I emailed them once a week for prayer needs and praises.

 

3. I made a play list of songs on YouTube to listen to when I needed a boost. A few of my favorites are “Fight Song” (Rachel Platten); Limitless (Colton Dixon); Champion (Carrie Underwood); I Am Not Afraid Anymore (Twila Paris); Lord, I Need You (Chris Tomlin) and any others that talk about being victorious.

 

4. I made a list of reasons why I was wanting to get my degree in English in the first place and kept it handy to remind me of my ultimate goals.

 

These are just a few suggestions of things I did to make it to the end of that senior year to get my Bachelor’s in English degree. If you are struggling with something in your life, and you just aren’t sure you can find your way to the end of it, maybe these are ideas you might try too.

 

And, don’t forget, find your tribe. Find that friend who will listen to you cry and whine and get angry. That person, or persons, who will be there at the drop of a hat to pray with you and help you no matter how late into the night it is.

 

Whatever you do though, rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

 

From My Heart to Yours,

Marcie 🙂