Resilience For Life
Resilience For Life In Christ is necessary for a Christian journey… post updated 01-22-23
We start by saying as much as we love positivity, or regardless of how we believe in always being positive…it is not always possible. That is not life as it flows. It can be an inadequate approach to help those who are struggling within their Christian walk with Jesus.
Resilience in a woman’s or man’s life is essential to survive life. It does not matter what else might be missing in our emotional run to make life good, we need resilience. We need strength from a higher power, Jesus Christ who will keep us from getting down and not getting up again.
Table of Contents
Where Do We Begin In Resilience For Life?
My thoughts go to the important fact that some say, life is as good as we make it. That is true to some extent. How you perceive your life is also a factor of resilience. How we pick up the pieces when life hits us hard, is what we call resilience.
We have obstacles that are out of our control. Accidents can take part of our life, as we once knew it. There is no way to live life without some hard knocks along the way.
The reason for this is that we only have control over ourselves and not another, and certainly not our entire existence. Life brings tragedy, disappointments, and discouragements that we have no way of turning around before they occur. We cannot rule the universe. Very often, the universe sends pain and suffering.
In This Faith Matter Post –here are scriptures of significance:
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 1st Corinthians 10:13 KJV
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippins 3: 13-14
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” James 1:12
“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” Proverbs 24:16
There Is No Perfect Life- however, there can be perfect peace…
There aren’t many individuals who will tell you that their life is perfect. If they did voice that their life is perfect (which includes work, family members, friends, health, etc.); they would not be truthful to themselves.
Bad things happen to everyone. It does not matter the status of their life, their material possessions, or those things which perish. No one is above life, most humans will vouch for that statement. However, we must also vouch for the fact that Jesus Christ is the answer.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Isiash 26:3
At some point, all humans experience things they would rather not. Some of it is our own doing, but not all of the disappointments, causalities, and occurrences are caused by the individual’s actions. We still have to endure and be vigilant.
These are points to be aware of on a daily basis. Not fear, but aware of. Unpleasant facts are that no one is exempt from the less-than-desirable roadblocks in life.
They come, some are worse than others, and some take a toll on our spirit, our mind, our soul, and our joy. Some leave us with disabilities that must be in some form, dealt with. How do we overcome, regain our composure, and live life normally again?
That answer is one of the most important and POSITIVE statements:
“Through the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Understanding Resilience For Life
My version: It is the power within to be hit, knocked down, or frozen by life, and come back with more courage, inspiration, tranquility, and strength than before. The power of the Spirit is within us when we have “faith in God.”
Dictionary: springing back, rebounding, and returning to original form or position after being bent, compressed, or stretched.
Psychologists- have identified some of the facts that make someone resilient: a positive attitude, optimism, the ability to control emotions, and the ability to take failure as a lesson learned. Yet they also say that a positive attitude does not necessarily a cure-all. Re: Psychology Today
When We Can’t Put Our Life Back to What It Was Before
Years ago one of my friends told me once, “Linda, you always land on your feet.” I will never forget that statement and it was through our years of friendship working together that she saw my ability back then to turn something bad into something not so bad.
No, I am not bragging, and yes, I have had times in my life when I did not bounce as quickly as I would have liked. No, I have not had a tragedy such as losing a limb, cancer, or a debilitating disease for myself. Not yet, and I am thankful. In the past, I was determined not to let what hit me, kill me, or believe I could not rise above whatever it was.
However, I have experienced the loss of my only child, my son. Losing a child is not an experience that is easily dealt with, we parents are supposed to die first. It is a great loss that brings all of the questions which we do not understand about death to the surface.
I have had many work and life experiences that are not named here. Many were not my making, and some were, however, time does help erase the pain.
There Are Those Who Have Been Challenged Beyond The Norm
Here is where strength and resilience can make some of us, very little people. When those who have lost a member of their body, have cancer, become paralyzed, or cannot see, rise to more stardom than ever. They take what is left, and make it an exception and solution for what is missing. I could name a few individuals who have done that. One is Charles Krauthammer and his story is here.
These are the heroes of resilience. These are the people to watch or read about to see their pattern of sustainability, and resilience. Are we giving others a view of our life that patterns theirs? They have looked within themselves and found a profound ability to rise from the deepest, darkest moments in their life.
How Do We Gain More Resilience?
- Do not look back, just press forward; you cannot change the past, it is done, over with and it is time to forget. (It is not always easy).
- You cannot focus on what you should or could have done differently.
- Do not allow self-talk to demonize your plans for the future.
- You cannot try to figure out what you did that was wrong, focus on what you did right, and work from there. Often one does nothing wrong, however, do not let pity destroy possibilities. Press forward.
- Seek to understand, however, do not question that which has no answer, and you cannot do it over, re-do it, or wish to which is a waste of time.
Things To Remember In Your Quest For More Resilience for Life Thoughts… most of these are lessons that I have learned, the hard way
- We are all human, humans fail, they are jilted, they foil, they are not always emotionally intelligent, they often forget to be kind, and more often forget that what you give out is what you will get back. I know this is karma, but it is very true.
- Be grateful for your dilemma as there are those individuals who have suffered more losses than you might ever. They have been overcome by their profound ability to believe in the inevitable perseverance of the ‘can do’ attitude.
- See yourself as someone who has to learn, grow, understand, become more aware of your own actions, learn to discipline yourself, and think before you leap.
- Learning to be more aware of your decision-making, weigh the odds, and consider the outcome.
- Remember to listen to “all” the words were spoken by others, not just what you want to hear. For instance, “do you want to have dinner with us?” Instead of: “I want you to come with us to have dinner, please.”
- Take your life seriously; cherish it early in your life. If you live your life on the edge, you are bound to have more adjustments to make and it will depend upon the strength of your resilience to bounce back.
Closing – one of my true stories- I do have others but not here…
In my twenties, I experienced a very bad season of allergies, sinus infections, and colds. We actually lived in Denver where one’s sinus problems should have been better. At one point I was hospitalized and had breathing problems. I was pregnant with my only son at the time.
Sometime after my son was born, I began having noise (tinnitus), in my right ear. We moved back south, and my doctor had me tested by specialists and the exact cause was never established. My hearing grew worse with time. When this started I was only 22 years old.
I continued to have tinnitus and I continued to lose my hearing with age progression. I began wearing hearing aids after some time, and they decided to put the aid in my good ear to give me more clarity. The right ear did not give sufficient capabilities of hearing best. I could hear some; however, I did not understand certain tones, leaving me unable to understand words spoken by many individuals.
For some reason, I decided I would not let this derail my life. I continued with my career. I did not mention my disability I just pursued forward with what hearing ability I had left. Through the years, I lost more hearing in my good, left ear. I bought phone voice controls for the phone systems at work.
Even after this hearing loss, when we moved to Atlanta, GA, I went to work for Freddie Mac (Government GSE) now, and it highlighted the career that carried me through the rest of my work life. All with salaries that were as much as those or more than some with college degrees.
I am not doing a bragging session, I am highlighting what you can do with resilience, determination, grit, courage, and most of all with God. I worked hard, studied, kept learning to stay above the curve, was determined, and prayed. However, I managed a full career of 35 +- years within the mortgage industry. *Not bad for someone from a small town without a degree.
No, it was not all peaches and cream through all of it. There were difficulties, criticism, and times of wishing I was somewhere else. However, I never thought about quitting, or not trying to work as long as I possibly could. In addition, I did! After all the laws of discrimination were on my side.
Unbelievably, this is not my whole story either, just like everyone else, I have made mistakes in my life. I have had to repent of sins and I have had my share of reaching for more resilience. However, I find my faith in God to be the stronghold of my life.
Keep your chin up, keep living joyfully and know that you are not alone.
Linda
