Hard Won Victories

       A friend of mine said something that sparked a blog in me. She said victories are hard things aren’t they? It rang so true for me. Victories are so hard. I've had quite a few victories in my life, I feel like the victories I've achieved lately have been some of the hardest things. So many of the things I’ve been working on are things I've been struggling with for years, like getting new glasses. or going to the dentist. These have been some hard won victories that have been a long time coming. But I think the hardest thing about victories is it takes a lot of perseverance and so often we want things right now and most things in our lives don't come right away, but a little bit at a time. I think we can appreciate them even more that way.  Sometimes in the victory there are set backs and we stumble and fall. The most important thing is to not let it keep us down for long. Don’t give up. It's so important to get back up and keep striving forward.

      I know there is a huge breakthrough on the other side of all this hard work I've been doing. I know anxiety is not the end of my story. I know my story ends with me, anxiety free helping hundreds of women and maybe men to come to being set free from their anxiety or their struggles. But man is it hard to remember that when I'm in the midst of it. Yes, victories are hard things but so worth the endurance it takes to get there. I so want things to be easy, simple and comfortable. Sometimes we have moments like that but my friend said this life is a test of our character and God tests our character to prepare us for what comes next. Sometimes God makes us uncomfortable so we will make a change. I know so many things I wouldn't have changed if I had remained comfortable with them. There's something that burns within me to keep trying no matter how hard it is, no matter how many times I've failed, No matter how much I just want to give up sometimes I just keep trying and I hope I never lose that striving for something better. Striving to be better. Striving to be free from the burdens I am no longer able to bear.

      Let’s look at a victory in the bible. Let’s take a look at David and Goliath. I’m not going to include the scripture here because most people know the story of David and Goliath. So check out 1 Samuel 17 to read the story; it’s a good one.

      It wasn’t easy for David. First he had to ignore his brother who said David had an evil heart. Then he had to convince King Saul that he could face Goliath because he had faith that God would deliver them. Then he had to throw off the armor that the king put on him and take the weapon of his choice to the battle. It was a small thing that won him his victory and a mighty God. Also, it took courage for David to face Goliath and he faced him with faith in God. He even stated that God would deliver Goliath into his hand. David’s victory came as no surprise to David and it came not as others expected it would. They expected him to face Goliath with armor and a sword and he came at him with a sling and a stone. David’s victory came according to his personality, his faith, his strength and his God on his side. David couldn’t have had the victory by being some else he had to be himself. So often I think I need to be like someone else to be victorious but God gave me the personality, the strength, and the faith to tackle the challenges in my own way. Thank God that he gave us these things to battle challenges that we will face. Thank God we can be ourselves.

      Victories are hard things but worthy things. It’s not easy for me to get out of bed some mornings. For over a year I hit the snooze button every morning to get just a little more sleep. All it did was leave me lying in bed anxious about my day and what was to come. Grant it some days were fine but what I began to realize was the snooze button was unhealthy for me. It was unhealthy for my mental health. So for 53 days I’ve not hit the snooze button. I’ve had my setbacks and boy some mornings it’s hard to get out of bed, but this is a victory for me. 

Some victories come from small beginnings. 

Each victory begins with one step at a time and one choice at a time.

What’s your small step?

What’s your victory?

Genuinely Yours,

Amy Z.