Life is full of challenges, and sometimes to know you're moving forward, you have to face challenges. The older we get the more challenging it gets.
And these challenges come sometimes as a result of life's choices.
If you don't want anything to bother you, if you don't want uncomfortable situations, if you want comfort all the time, then you want to remain stagnant or stuck in life.
Finding purpose, pursuing a career or degree, learning a skill, building a business, everything that brings growth always come with challenges. Even staying idle is challenging, because you'll suffer lack, and you won't live a meaningful life.
And this brings us to the question: "When life challenges you, where do you find the courage to stand back up and keep going. "
The truth is, we always find the courage to advise or encourage someone that has been through things we do not understand or things we can only imagine, we tell them "be strong" , "you'll be fine", "this too shall pass", and the likes. It is easier to say these things to people, but when life happens to us, it becomes very difficult to encourage ourselves, and stay courageous through dark days. That is because no matter how strong a person is, they can't always solve their problems alone.
Humans are built to want companionship especially in times of distress. You remember in the bible where Jesus was about to be crucified, he knew that he had to face what was coming, that was the only choice. He had been going to the mountain to pray alone, but when the challenge was coming close, he had to tell his disciples to join him to pray, even though they slept off at some point😂 but their presence was an encouragement.
Here's the point I'm driving, companionship is very important in human existence. You need people to be around you, you need someone to talk to, you need someone to tell you that it will be alright. And no matter how courageous you may be, you won't be able to encourage yourself when life knocks you hard.
I find courage in talking to God when I'm facing difficulty, I remind myself of his numerous promises. The relief that comes with prayers and studying of the word of God is amazing—it's peace that passes all understanding.
I find courage in talking to family,close and trusted friends, I share my experiences and they share theirs and sometimes we laugh about our struggles and life goes on.
When I lost my sibling, I was in 300level and it was really challenging, I thought about deferring my admission, I wanted to pause my education, disappear from everyone till I was alright, what I didn't know was that life does not give a damn about anyone, it comes at you anytime without your consent—so invasive.
And I didn't also know that going about your day while you're carrying life's baggage does not mean it doesn't hurt or that you've forgotten how it feels or that you're being nonchalant towards your problems, but it means that you have understood life enough to keep moving while you're hurting because the pain will not go aways even when you stop moving.
My point is, I could scale through that phase because of people, family and good friend, I won't forget my roommate at that time, she helped me, I won't forget a church member that God used to help me become better especially in my spiritual journey. I couldn't have get past it alone. So, companionship is very important.
In conclusion, I also find courage to stand back up and keep going because I understand that basically life is full of challenges, that as a living soul, you'll face problems, it's non negotiable. So, when I'm faced with challenges, I don't let it get to me anymore, I just know that: this is life, and I have to keep moving. This doesn't mean I lack empathy or that I won't feel the pain, it means I understand life, and have learnt to take it one day at a time.
Thank you for your time.
