Going to College Requires Endurance: Date, Dating and Friends!

As the song says: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!” Learning to be on our own and becoming independent is not an easy thing to do. It is up to us to overcome the obstacles we encounter throughout life. The key is to know that no one ever said it would be easy. In life, there are happy moments, and there are sad ones; tough times and enjoyable times; easygoing people and mean, difficult people; moments when we are surrounded by people who love us and lonely moments when all we have to count on is ourselves.

            We cannot foresee what is coming our way, but we can plan our reactions and be determined not to be tossed around by our problems. We can make it our goal to overcome every situation with resolution and perseverance. We can try our best to find solutions instead of freezing and feeling sorry for ourselves. We need determination in our heads and strength in our hearts, so we can keep moving forward.

            When we encounter a difficult situation or a challenge, we can be sure of one thing: it can be overcome if we stop, think and then act. Every step in life is an opportunity to learn and to grow. If we fall down, then we must stand up, dust ourselves off and keep on going. We can advance toward our future with confidence, knowing that obstacles can be overcome. Little by little, we can keep moving forward, progressing step by step through all sorts of situations and the different stages of our lives.

            If athletes get overwhelmed by the obstacles ahead, they will never win gold. If they settle for easy limits, they will never set new world records. If they give up too easily, they will never find out how far they can go, and they will never fulfill their potential. Anyone who wants to be a world champion must look ahead, determined to endure all hardships and to meet the toughest opponents.

            Anyone who wants to be the best in mathematics will seek harder and harder problems to solve. Anyone who wants to get better at scuba diving will go to greater depths and dive in more dangerous conditions and in the greater depths find different and more beautiful surroundings. There is a hunger for challenge within us because after every obstacle that is overcome lies a reward.

Yet, often in our everyday life, we are easily discouraged. Why? Most of us accept that life is full of changes it is full of opportunities and challenges. None of these things should cause us to give up or be so overcome by fear or discouragement that we forget that we are warriors.

            Yes, we are warriors. We are here to fight the good fight. We fight against evil and against all fears, hate and depression. We fight against our own weaknesses and defects and our own shortcomings. We fight against disappointments, against humiliations and against injustice, enduring every trial and looking forward to tomorrow.

When the water has reached our neck and we find it hard to keep our feet on stable ground, we know we can always turn for strength to God our Father. He will give us the courage and strength to continue, the faith and the will to keep on trying. We must fight this fight with joy in our hearts, knowing that in all these things we have already conquered in Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 8:37)

             Every challenge, every obstacle can be overcome with God’s help, and we can be sure that we will win the gold medal. Do you know what “gold medal” I am talking about? The satisfaction, joy and peace we feel in the moment we successfully overcome whatever hard situation or trial we have faced. There is a tremendous satisfaction in knowing that we did not look for excuses or for someone to blame and we did not play the “poor me” card. Instead, we looked for God’s help, and from Him we drew our strength. When we do that, God bestows on us all kinds of good gifts gifts such as endurance and wisdom at the very moment we need them. Next time we face a tough situation, we need to know we already have learned, struggled and conquered that situation. We have already won! Why? Because, like Holy Scripture says, “I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.” (Philippians 4:13)

Wisdom to contemplate:

 “My strength, for you I watch; you, God, are my fortress, my loving God.” (Psalm 59:10-11)



“The LORD is my strength and my shield, in whom my heart trusted and found help. So my heart rejoices; with my song I praise my God.” (Psalm 28:7)

“He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound. Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall,

 they that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles’ wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.” (Isaiah 40:29-31)

“You are my hope, Lord; my trust, GOD, from my youth. On you I depend since birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength; my hope in you never wavers.” (Psalm 71:5-6)

 

“Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.”(Luke 10:19)

If We Want Help: We Must Do Our Part!

In life, when we go through trials, often we pray. But often we pray with doubt and fear in our heart. These things are the opposite of faith. How can a prayer without faith be effective? When we pray, we must pray with confidence and know that prayers are always heard.

If the answer that comes back is different from what we expected, it does not mean it is not the right one; it only means that there was a better solution to our problem. It is important for us to give the benefit of the doubt, to recognize the fact that we might not always know what the best outcome for a situation is. After all, there is a chance that there can be moments in our life when we might not know the best road to follow. We should not be stubborn, obstinate or inflexible, stuck to a specific idea. We need to trust and be aware of the fact that everything is perfect because God is in charge of our lives.

We must let things flow, with the certainty that in the process we are learning and growing. We must be confident that our prayers are being heard by a loving Father who would never ignore us and who has promised to give good things to those who ask. He reminds us in Holy Scripture: Would we ever ignore the request of one of our children? Now, if we, who have so many faults and defects, are not able to deny our kids anything, then what are the chances that He will ignore our requests? Think about how God is perfect; He is love Himself. Now think about how He has made us, His children. Think about all His promises and about His amazing love. It is simply impossible that He would ignore our prayers.

Therefore, we need to make sure that we understand and know in our hearts that even though at times it might take longer than expected, and even though from time to time our need might be met in a way less than hoped for or anticipated, our prayers are always answered. When we ask for help, we must do it with the absolute certainty that help will come, and we must know that invariably all things will come to us, with our welfare as a first priority.

Jesus said, “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9) If we pay attention to this scripture verse, we will realize that it requires action on our part. We cannot just pray for something to happen. We cannot just wish things were different. We cannot just sit and hope for something to happen. We need to contribute to the miracles in our lives by asking, seeking and knocking. We need to try our best to make things happen. We must take an active role in our lives and be participants in the miracles that we will experience.

We cannot just passively sit and wait and complain about how we pray and pray and hope and hope and nothing changes. We need to be more involved and take responsibility for the direction our life is going. And we must know that through prayer that direction can always change. It is up to us; it is up to God. Let’s learn how to pray and work on improving our relationship with God. Let’s strengthen our faith and work hard at doing our part. And, as St. Paul advises in Romans 8, let’s hope and eagerly wait with perseverance for the best to happen. I guarantee you that then we can never be disappointed, because hope in God does not disappoint. 



Wisdom to contemplate:

“Learn to savor how good the LORD is; happy are those who take refuge in him.” 

(Psalm 34:9)

“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

“For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.…We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:24-25,28)

“Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)

 “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)