|Olivia Ellison|
If I were to ask you to name someone brave, who would you say?
SUPERMAN?
IRON MAN?
BLACK WIDOW?
What if I asked for an answer closer to home?
The girl in your math class whose parents are abusive?
Your friend that had cancer?
The boy who doesn’t know where he’ll be sleeping or if he’ll have food?
HOW MANY OF YOU WOULD SAY YOURSELF?
As we look to sympathize with others, we often downplay our own trials.
Only 38% of all men and women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. That means 62% of humanity will never experience that trial.
Only 28% of Americans, on average, move from home. That’s 72% that have never had to move to a new place.
Most of us are the 62 and 72%.
Others of us are the 38. Some of us are the 28.
Some of us, like me, are both.
Having cancer and moving across the country do not seem comparable at all. But both are trials that we must face and both are hard.
So what about the 62 and 72%, are they off the hook?
The answer is NO.
Living with abusive parents, going through a divorce, living with depression, anxiety, autism, eating disorders, homelessness, being shy, struggling with school work, losing a loved one. There are hundreds, even thousands of life situations that present trials and no trial is harder than another. One of my favorite quotes about this is…
“Just because you’ve been through worse doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt me”
Unknown
Heavenly Father knows us perfectly. He knows our limits. He will not try us more than we are able. We all have different limits and Heavenly Father knows them. He knows that the girl in your math class can make it through living with her abusive parents. He knows your friend can fight cancer. And he knows you. He knows that it might be tough for you to make friends. He knows you might struggle in science class. He knows moving might be the hardest thing you ever have to do. And that’s ok. Because those things are hard for you. Sure they might not be hard for everyone but that does not make you weak.
You are BRAVE.
The trials you face every day are hard and they might break you. But you keep going. You keep fighting. That is what makes you strong.
As a daughter of God, you are fighting every day to save your life from the adversary. You are making a conscious effort to grow closer to your Heavenly Father. And that is Brave.
I know there are days when you feel like giving up, but I think its brave, that you never do
Lana Rafaela
