GRIT—IN BITS AND IN PIECES

Hey there, beloved!

So, some weeks ago, I shared with us about holding on and pushing forward during tough times, in a previous post, "Grit—weathering the storm". Today, I want to share about it in more depth. You can see this as an unofficial continuation of sorts.

We've all passed through our very trying times,—some more than others—and though the truth about pressing on still stands, there's something extra I want us to be reminded of today. This is that, in getting up again and trying to push through the pain and hurt, sometimes we may need to start out with our wobbly baby steps.

For some of us, we've been through emotionally draining experiences like break-ups or the loss of loved ones. For others, our pain has been more of a physical nature—like the effects of a traumatic injury, for instance—and now, we're trying to go through rehabilitation. It could even be those of us who, as a result of the covid-19 break, no longer know what our textbooks look like, and mentally wince whenever the thought of continuing them, pops up.

Whatever the case might be, and no matter how different these situations all look on paper (and how normally it could be considered a crime by some to place them all in the same category—which I am in no way doing), there are two things we must admit, are common with all of them.

The first, is that coming out of the positions these situations place us in—mentally or otherwise—is no easy task. And the second, is that in spite of the first, we need to find our ways to come out of them, so we can move on to being better versions of ourselves.

Now, of course we know that the pain doesn't just go away like that (or at least, the situations are very rare where they do), and neither do our feelings of revulsion toward things that have scarred us or scare us.

But truly, we owe it to ourselves (and others) to do all we can to come out of our down seasons, and not wallow in them forever. Even if we have to claw our way out, bit by bit!

However, before we can even start taking those crucial steps, there are some things that we need to put in place.

First of, we need to want to move on, and find our reasons for doing so. For we can only go as far as the will and resolve within us take us. Secondly, we need to realise that sometimes moving on doesn't happen all at once. There will be days when all we may be able to do, might be a measly ten percent of what we would usually do if we were at peak condition.

But it's alright. Really, it is. We need to accept that the processes we go through when trying to move forward won't always be palatable, and that at times, wobbly steps might be all we'd be capable of during those periods when we're striving to effect changes from within us.

The beauty of it all though, even when we're hurting, is the knowledge that true strength and true grit is exuded from inside us, in those rough moments—when we're able to push through our pain, no matter how small the steps we take may be.

And this is what i wanted to remind us of today,—those who've been too down to begin or are not even sure how to; and those who have started but feel like they'll never be the same again—the fact that we'll all be fine. We will.

So, while we may not be in our best states right now, our ability to push forward, one step at a time, in bits and in pieces, shows the true determination set deep within our hearts. And with hearts like ours, we'll keep on healing, keep on growing, until some day not so far away, we'll suddenly realise that we're stronger than we've ever been—because those experiences made us more beautiful versions of ourselves.

Let's not lose heart. We are loved by God, and He is with us in every chapter of our stories.