Just Keep Going

Winston Churchill once said, "If you are going through hell, keep going."  Many people have used that quote and expanded on it.  I think I even heard it in a church, once.  The jist of it is that if you are going through a valley and are feeling the strain from being there, why would you stop there in the valley?

This week was both a week of victory and oppression.  It's like the book quote that says, "It was the best of times.  It was the worst of times."  It was neither best nor worst, but you get the picture.  It doesn't have to be just one.  This was week two of my determination and expectation to claim and create the success that I deserve, instead of living in a lower living standard than my experience, education, or virtue demands.  Last week I was applying to 3-4 jobs per day, and this week I had two of them call for interviews on the same day.  Living through that day, I determined that someone.. spirit or person with spells.. does not wish me to succeed.

The day before the interviews, my car got another flat tire.. that is 3 in a month.  It cost money and took up work time, so the temptation could be to say that I needed to work to pay rent that was already tight and cancel the interview.  Instead, I worked extra hours every day this week to make up for it.  Then, interview day, I went to my first interview.  They wanted to interview at their new location that is still being renovated, so they had the doors and windows open because of the paint fumes.  Just as I was about to interview, a MASSIVE storm hit the area in the middle of the day.. not afternoon but exactly at noon, which is an unusual time for storms, here.  So, we were interviewing with a tsunami of wind and rain 10 feet away.

That interview went very well.  Then, I rushed over to Largo (by St Pete and Clearwater) for my 2nd interview.  It was rainy as I drove over there, but it cleared up as neared.  So, I went into the interview and had two interviews.. for two positions.. and gave my references, and THAT one is also very full of career potential.  DURING those interviews, however, the power in the state government building just went out... no storm outside.. it just went out.. and we finished the interview in a half lit room running on generator.  After the interview was over, I went out, and I found one of my NEW tires FLAT, so I changed it to the donut and drove back to Pepboys where I got that tire to have it repaired... taking up more delivery time.  As the finished repairing the tire, their hydrolic lift broke and severely damaged my car door.... again, remember rent was due by the end of today... the next day after the interviews.  So, that night and all today I delivered with a car door that won't fully close and met my budget needs... DESPITE taking time out for those interviews.  I COULD have just said fk this.. I'll just pay weekly at higher cost and work harder to make up for it NEXT week, but I knew that if I get called for one of those jobs, I would need to have a month till rent was next due to be able to have the gap between starting a job and the first paycheck.  So... the week was VERY rocky, which always seems to happen most when you set out to improve yourself.  But, in the end, I STILL accomplished all my tasks and deadlines for the week and have more confidence of my ability to handle things in the future.

The bible says that God never gives you more than you can handle and with every trial will provide a means of escape.   Sometimes, that escape isn't to run away but to run THROUGH the valley to get to the other side.  God may give your opposition permission to weigh you down, but he is seeing if you are really committed and is building your muscles for the journey.  When you get to the other side ... or even just get through the DAY... you will have another crown of glory for a job well done.