"What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger"

     Now I am definitely not a philosopher, but I am apt to grab on to a good philosophical adage when I hear one. Friedrich Nietzsche is quoted as having said "What doesn't kill a person only makes that person stronger." I'd like to admit to you that I was reading one of Nietzsche's books, but that wouldn't hardly be true. In actuality a song by the band Need to Breathe and Lauren Diagle, "Hard Love", that I listen to just about every morning hinges on that very line of encouragement.

“Hold on tight a little longer
What don’t kill ya, makes ya stronger
Get back up, ’cause it’s a hard love
You can’t change without a fallout
It’s gon’ hurt, but don’t you slow down
Get back up, ’cause it’s a hard love”- 

  The whole premise of Nietzsche's proclamation and the lyrics of this song is that the adversities and even the afflictions of life that we persevere through will eventually make us a stronger person, a better prepared person, equipped with the grit and resiliency to enter future storms of life with an "overcomer" mindset. 

     I'll admit that is an easier one to say than it is to do. It's a "tough row to hoe" by yourself, and knowing someone is there to catch you when you fall or empower us when we are weak is not only comforting, but also essential. No man is an island.

      When I share with someone that I have learned to embrace adversity as a critical component of growth, many times the person I am talking to looks at me like I have three heads and says, "How is that possible? How can you be so positive in the middle of some type of hardship or difficulty?" Well I have learned the secret that Paul shared with the church in Corinth, "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." II Corinthians 12:9-10. In another instance Paul proclaims to the church in Philippi, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." 
Philippians 4:11-13. It isn't easy, and I don't want to make it sound like all you have to do is think with a positive attitude and it will all be okay, but I am saying it is possible, and yes you can overcome and persevere!
     You may ask, "When will I ever get relief from this traumatic chapter of my life?" The answer to that question is that unfortunately/fortunately you may or you may not ever get the physical relief you would like to receive, but when you accept the conditions you are in, whether they be physical, financial, or emotional as a tool that God has given you to use to benefit His purpose for your life, your perspective will change. Where once you felt persecuted, know you will feel empowered to share, to help someone else that isn't as strong as you. A child, an elderly person, a student, a friend, that is struggling, or even a loved one that has fallen into the same trap that once held you captive may be the very reason you endured and overcame that adversity in your own life. 
     The valleys you traveled through to reach the mountain you are standing on right now are the very lessons you have learned from and know they have equipped you so that you can help someone else survive their own valley. The adversity and afflictions of life mold our trust and faith to create in us an encouraging truth that God has a plan and whatever our role in that plan is we must trust that it is for a greater purpose than just for our own personal existence.
     I may fall, I may suffer, I may deal with adversity remaining days of my life, but I am confident that God is a great big God, and His plans are beyond my scope of understanding, so I place my trust and faith in Him. That has made all the difference in my life and it can do the same for you! Persevere!! 
Coach Carter