Quote from Anne Lamott

"I heard a preacher say recently that hope is a revolutionary patience...Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work:  you don't give up."

~Anne Lamott

My Cross to Carry

A troubled and burdened man prayed and prayed that God would lift his burden. Day after day he prayed that his life would be easier and he begged for God's intervention.

One day, Jesus came to the man and asked, "My child, what troubles you?" The man replied that his life was full of turmoil and that it had become too much to bear. He again asked for help stating that he just couldn't continue to go on.

Jesus, feeling the man's anguish, decided help was in order. The man was so happy that his prayers were about to be answered that his burden already felt lighter.

Jesus took the man to a room and stopped in front of the door. When he opened the door, what the man saw was amazing. The room was filled with crosses; little crosses, big crosses, giant crosses. The man, bewildered, looked at Jesus and asked how this would help him. Jesus explained that each cross represented a burden that people carry; small burdens, big burdens, giant burdens -- and every burden in-between.

At this point, Jesus offered the man the opportunity to choose his burden. The man, so excited that he was finally able to have some control over his life, looked around the room for just the right cross. He saw a tiny little cross way back int he corner. It was the smallest cross in the room. After a bit of thought, he pointed to the cross and said, "That one, Lord. I want that one." Jesus asked, "Are you sure, my son?" The man quickly replied, "Oh, yes Lord. Most definitely, yes."

Jesus turned to the man and replied, "My child, you have chosen your own cross. It is the burden you already carry."

~Author Unknown~

"You Mustn't Quit" Poem

"When things so wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest! if you must-but never quit.

Life is queer, with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about

When he might have won if he'd stuck it out;

Stick to your task, though the pace seems slow-

You may succeed with one more blow.

Success is failure turned inside out-

The silver lining of clouds of doubt-

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-

It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit."

             ~ Author Unknown

     I'll be honest this poem has spoken to me at various times in my life when life has gotten me down and I felt overwhelmed with battles. When I've faced times of financial stress or health issues or just continuous battles one after another of various kinds, the end of this poem came to the forefront of my mind..."It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit." And, I've found that when I hold onto God, keep standing in my faith and in the things that God has told me to do situations turn around. The battles don't appear as big, I find peace, and there is rest when I trust in God. I resolve I'm not going to quit.