Surviving, Striving, and Thriving

I was lying on my bed and sobbing. Crying because it hurt so badly I could barely breath. Crying because God’s plan didn’t make sense…again. Have you been there? Has your heart been broken to the point where you wonder if it can ever be whole again? Have you watched a friend or family member die and been unable to do anything about it? Have you ever been betrayed or hurt by someone you respected or trusted? Have you ever walked through a valley of suffering? I have…many, many times. And, I’ve had to watch friends and family go through these times, which is also very hard. These are the times when all we can do is survive. It takes every ounce of strength we have to get out of bed in the morning, put one foot in front of the other and get through the day just trying to pretend that we’re not falling apart on the inside. We can’t reach out to people because we’re hurting too much ourselves. We can’t do ministry. We can hardly do anything without thinking of the pain. There are times when that’s okay. It gives us time to come to terms with what has happened and to start coping with it. That being said, I would suggest that a lot of people are in the survival mode most of their life, even when they shouldn’t be. They don’t like their current situation and do the bare minimum to scrape by at life. They don’t put any extra effort into anything; they don’t reach out to people; they don’t do ministry. All they can think about is how they would want things to be different. Do you know people like that? Are you one of those people? I don’t believe that is the way we should live as Christians. I believe there is a more excellent way.

Busy, busy, busy. We as Americans are always busy. If we aren’t we feel pressured to be. Our culture views work as a virtue. What we do defines who we are. We are always striving to do more and more. I know I am probably the most guilty person in this camp. I have definitely had my moments in the surviving camp, but I live here most of the time. Striving to do more. Striving to do better. People in this camp might not feel sorry for themselves, but they don’t reach out to people or do ministry either because they are just too busy to. Or, if they do one of those activities, it is planned into the schedule and it is done with the mindset of having just one more thing to cross off the list so they can move on to the next thing. This is a step in the right direction, but it is only half-way. At least we strivers are attempting to do something outside of ourselves, but we are also missing the point. I believe there is a more excellent way.

Thriving. How many of us can say we thrive on a daily basis? To answer that question it might be helpful to have a definition of what thriving looks like. I think it will be different for different people, but I think there are some concepts that are probably universal. Thriving involves enjoying life. I’ve never heard of a depressed person describe their life as “thriving.” Thriving involves being there for people whenever they need it, not just when it fits on your schedule. Thriving is blooming where you are planted, not wishing you were in another garden. It means taking your situation and making the best out of it. Most of all, thriving is being secure in Christ and having the joy that only a relationship with Him can bring. I think a lot people are waiting around for something to change in their life before they start attempting to thrive. My advice: Thrive now. Your situation might not change, but your perspective will.

What are your thoughts? Do you think this happens? I would love to hear what you have to say. Thanks for reading!