Hold On Just a Little While Longer

So, what do you do when you can't find the words to explain to those around you that the circumstance, the situation, the grip of the condition is so tight you can hardly get enough air into your lungs to keep breathing? What do you do when you can't stop the tears and every waking moment reminds you of the pain? What do you do when you can't say a word and you're so tired of the battle that all you want to do is lie down and give up? What do you do when the systems of this world fail you?

These are some of the words I've had to remember and speak to myself in the past few months: "The Lord, You, are my Sheppard; I shall not be in want! You make me to lie down in green pastures. You lead me beside the still waters. You restore my soul. You lead me in the paths of righteousness for your name sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:1-4.

And when the pressure increased, I remembered: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:7-9.

I have come to realize that my answer to the call or agreeing with my purpose has not come without a price. Neither does yours. I realize I could not emphatically encourage you or sincerely empathize with you if I, myself, did not experience life's ups and downs. I could not teach you how to soar in the storm unless I knew how to soar in the storm. I could not teach you how to turn adversities into victories unless I face adversity and turn it into victory. I could not teach abundant living, if I did not know and understand abundant living in spite of,illusions in the conscious mind.

I could not show you or tell you how to rise and walk, if I could not or did not know how to rise above my ill circumstance, pick up my bed of affliction, and walk.

I wish today I could hand you a quick fix, honestly. I wish today I could make all the wrongs that life has brought you, right. I wish I could take away all of your pain, immediately. I wish I could turn your cards of life into a royal straight flush. But, I can't. However, this is what I can do. I can encourage you to hold on. I can tell you and show you how to not give up and not give in. I can lead you toward love, light and healing. And, if you choose such, you will walk into abundant living-in this life, not just the next. You will see JUSTICE, in this world not just the next. You will experience JOY and HAPPINESS not just later, but now. Yes, in this life!

Now, more than ever, you've got to hold onto your faith. And, when the systems of this world give you a resounding no, go to the center of you-tap into the very essence of you, and listen. Listen until you hear a resonating YES and hear how you're supposed to proceed. I don't care what your doctor has told you, it doesn't matter what the judge's verdict or sentence, or even what yourmind chatter or

donkey talk is telling you. Today-Hold On, BELIEVE, DON'T GIVE UP, and DON'T GIVE IN.

Remember this,