Refuse to give up

As I drove behind my child just like I had countless times, following her while she trained, I felt the pride within me growing. The pride didn’t stem from her outward actions. What she was doing was her routine. Often, over the past four years, she would get up early or head out after her chores and run. Running has become a way of life for the child since she experienced the first opportunity to be a part of her local school’s cross-country team. The love for the sport ignited something deep within her and she has put her time in to excel, bringing honor to her family, community, and team.

This day, it was different. The feel, motivation, and even the vibe had changed overnight. The smile and joy of competing and bettering herself had seemingly vanished. The warrior spirit and competitive look in her eyes had been replaced with brokenness and confusion. Due to unfortunate circumstances, which I choose not to reveal at this point, Lilli suffered a potential roadblock relating to her chosen sport. A setback which could totally derail her future if she allowed it to.

As I watched my child, I was confident that she had the ability and drive to overcome the obstacle, my concern was if she had the will at such a young age. Her first day of training after we became aware was a rough one. It was evident that the situation had “got into her head” and she struggled to will herself to fight through her mind telling her to stop. As I watched from a distance on the second training session, I hoped she took my and her mother’s advice and simply fought through it, not allowing circumstances to derail her goals.

The gentle reminders and re-focusing resonated within her and it became evident that the child had come to terms with the situation and all her disappointment and heartache was rapidly replaced with a desire to overcome and prove her value. As I watched my child, I thought about how at times we all face moments when it feels like our world is caving in. We strive to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but the fog surrounding us just seems too thick. Our beliefs and even how we view our own importance within the bigger cultural or community picture appears to be fractured with no positive outcomes in sight.

It is at that moment, in the depths of our own dark crucible, that each of us, just like Lilli, has a choice. The choice of succumbing to the situation, potentially altering our journey negatively, or of overcoming. If it’s important to us we must never throw up our hands, regardless of the challenges we face. Rather, we must focus our mind on our success and find a way to make it work. For Lilli, we maintain hope that change will occur, allowing her to continue her original course. If not, I have no doubt that she will overcome and exceed expectations leaving some to ponder the big what if. That’s just who she is. Never succumb my friends, fight the good fight, remain focused and willing to mix things up from time to time to overcome. This journey we travel is wrought with many intersections, sometimes the turn before us is not our first choice but can end up becoming the right option because of our resilience.