Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Keeping On

Some weeks are harder to get through than others.

This was one of those weeks, for so many people.

Last Tuesday we received the horrible news that a dear friend’s daughter had died suddenly. I want to tell you more about that, but I just don’t have the words yet. Maybe on another Friday.

For now, let me just remind us all that we must make the choice to keep on going, even after we suffer a shocking loss.

Our friend and his family were constantly in our prayers after we heard the news. I can’t imagine the intense pain all of them are feeling right now.

As for me, it felt wrong somehow to just keep doing what I always did, day after day. My body even rebelled a bit, staying in bed several mornings and just letting the alarm clock ring for close to an hour before I could drag myself out of bed to shut it off.

I guess I just needed that time to ignore the demands of the day before I could face it. Once I got up, I succeeded in carrying out my normal routine, for the most part. A part of my heart was hurting for our friends back in Iowa, but life went on.

And life went on for all of them, as well. We watched on Facebook as they grieved their loss, but they also kept on living. Roller skating after the prom, celebrating another son’s birthday, posting Bible verses of comfort for themselves and friends.

Whether we have heartbreaking losses or minor annoyances in life, we all need to practice keeping on. God understands when we need to stop and grieve and scream and cry because we don’t like or understand what’s going on in our lives. But then we need to get up and take the steps that are in front of us, leading us to whatever God has next for us.

God is right here with us, loving us and giving us the strength to keep on keeping on.

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV)

Do the hard times of life keep you paralyzed in place sometimes? How can focusing on God give you the strength to keep on going?