Life always throws hurdles at you when you least expect them. It tests you, it makes you cry, it makes your life difficult. But the harder the hurdle, the higher you realize you can jump. We find our fullest potential when must transcend over the most difficult of challenges. No one ever said at the end of their life, "well that was easy." Because it never is. Life is good and gracious and magnificent; but no one said anything about it being perfect.
When I am in the middle of a conflict, something that seems so big and important at the time, I have to constantly remind myself that it is not the end of the world. In my mind, it always is. We put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect and to live in a perfect world. But that is not living. Living is jumping and leaping. Living is pretending to be a superhero in your backyard when you are 9. Living is falling and getting back up again. Living is failing three tests in a row before realizing that maybe you are not studying right. Living is flawed, and broken, and indescribable. But it is good.
Then the day comes when you are thankful of all the hurdles. When you realize how strong you are, and you owe every ounce of that credit to life kicking your ass. Everything you thought was insurmountable turns out to be just a blip in your life map. All we can hope for is that the blips are not big enough to make a dent. But even then there is hope. That is the funny thing about living; it deceives you. When you think time is up and there is no where left to turn, there is always more to come.
Our true test of character is not the time it takes to conquer the hurdles, or how perfectly we conquer them. It is rather a sense of endurance. Perseverance is the most esteemed quality we are given in life. I do believe every person has it, it is just a matter of finding it. Digging deep and finding what it is that makes you carry on is what makes a persons strong.
"I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles..."
-Christopher Reeve
