Can you stand the rain?
- Lauryn Jones
- Jan 30, 2022
- 5 min read
"Sunny days, everybody loves them. But tell me, can you stand the rain? "- New Edition
It is soo easy to praise God when everything is going great and our prayers are being answered. But what about when we feel weak and overwhelmed? We wonder why we are not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. But the real question is: why are you not trusting His plan? Why are you not trusting that through all your hard seasons, you will survive?
If you are like me, it may be hard to stay committed to something. At first, your goal seems so exciting and you pour a lot of energy into it. After a while, it can get overwhelming. You are not alone and those different emotions you feel are more than okay! You can always choose to be committed today.
The past eight months have been extremely busy as I have been applying to grad school. In May, I started studying for the GRE for a couple of hours each day. Truthfully, there were many days that I did not study due to a lack of motivation and distractions. In August, I took the GRE test and did not do so well. Fortunately, I changed my program so I did not end up needing the test after all.
When searching for programs, I originally, wanted to go into a Counseling Psych program, but after much consideration, I knew I wanted to take another route. I started looking for programs that did not seem as hard to get into because I felt so incapable of what I could do. How dare I try to stop what God can do, though? Trying to take the easy way out let me see that I was telling God "I know you're calling me to this area, but I don't see that happening, so I'm going to take this route instead." After I came back to my senses, I started applying to Master of Social Work programs. By this time, I was balancing applying for grad school, being on the exec board of multiple organizations, finishing up my undergrad degree, and trying to maintain my social life. In October, I started writing my personal statements which were the hardest. I spent about a month and a half revising my essays and my final draft took about three or four edited drafts. As you can see, this has been a long process!! I had so many times where I felt stagnant due to feeling overwhelmed and being scared of the outcome.
I'm not gonna lie, at first I was thinking, "God, why am I going through this? Why did I take on these commitments? Why couldn't my senior year be less busy? Do I truly need grad school?" But to make it through, I had to change my mindset. I began saying "God, how can I learn from this? What ways can this season help me grow?" I learned this was not a season to be complaining, but a season to persevere.
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Romans 5:3-5
Trials are a part of life. There are going to be days or weeks where you do not get everything done. There are going to be days where you don't want to do anything but rest. But every day won't be like that. You do not have to succumb to a quitting mindset. The day you decide to quit might have been two days before your breakthrough. Do not stop your blessings from coming in. My journey of applying to grad school would not be the same if I had given up last summer while studying for the GRE. I learned to reflect on each day, name it as it was: good or bad, and then do better the next. Let's say I did not fill out an application one day, the next day I'm going to fill out two.
Harder days are not there to tear you down, but to build you up. On my worst, longest, and/or busiest days, He's taught me how to get up and say "Thank you, God." God does not want these situations to make us hide in fear. He wants us to grow in confidence that if He gets us through one trial, He'll do it again! I've been able to learn these things because I put myself in a position to learn. My response went from "God, help me get out of this." to "God, help me get through this." It's all about your perspective and your response.
My response became worship. I love to worship because it just reminds me of how much greater God is than our problems. Even if we have a bad day or are going through a trial, we can fight spiritually. God's word, worship, and prayer are all part of our armory.
As for the stress that hard days may bring, I am not saying to ignore it. Take care of yourself. Find ways to relieve your stress, healthily. It is okay to feel anxious or afraid, but you do not have to sit in that. You can do something about it. You can do it, afraid. Go check out my "Self-care is not Selfish" post for more self-care tips!
"All the days won't be perfect" - New Edition. But we can still trust that God is going to pull us through the storm. He is not a God that leaves us. He carries us through each day. Storms will come, but what will be your response?
God, I thank you for being a God that cares for us. God, I know that if you can handle the cross, you can handle our emotions. I know that our trials are only opportunities for us to learn how to be fruitful, how to overcome, gain strength, and have faith in You. Help us, Lord, to seek You every day. Seek our hearts and minds and expose to us the fears and worries we carry. Show us what you are wanting to learn in this season. Show us how to be better. Help us grow in the faith of your strength and goodness. God is good, all the time, All the time, God is good. Amen.
Sis, pick up your pen and paper and start writing those goals down. Stick to your plan. See it through! You have to do your part at being faithful and God will do the rest! Had I quit, I wouldn't have gotten my first grad school acceptance. Trust me, I thought about giving up very often. But with God on my side, I'm able to keep walking and you can too! You are unstoppable.
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