Endurance.

Endurance can best be described by Webster's dictionary as the "ability to withstand hardship or adversity". With that definition, I am sure we all can think of many times we have had to show endurance in the middle of a situation we were placed in or in the middle of hardship. 2020 has been a hardship for a lot of people. Lives have been lost. Jobs have been lost. We cannot see all our friends and family, which can be especially hard during the holidays. There are so many unknowns still about the coronavirus and what's to come. The hospitals are at max capacity. There are limited amounts of ventilators. Depression is at an all-time high. It's lonely not being able to spend time with those you care about. I could go on and on about how 2020 has been a year of hardships. For each person, your hardships this year may be different than that of someone else you know, and that's okay. I know personally, I have had my own hardships I've faced this year. I became a nurse in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, and it's been hard. My days have been long. There have been times I've wanted to quit. I feel like sometimes all I do is work and on my days off, I have no motivation to even get out of bed. I've had some extremely sick patients. I've had times where I have no idea what I'm doing. It's hard enough to become a new nurse, but becoming a new nurse in the middle of this chaos hasn't been easy at all. Some of you may not know this, but I battle depression, and work has been draining me to the point I am emotionally affected sometimes and my depression gets bad. I live alone now, so I get lonely too and with covid, it's not safe to have people coming in and out of my house all the time, so that doesn't help either. Also, the holidays are hard after losing my Grams in 2019, so this time of the year is hard too. So, not to say my hardships are worse than whatever you're facing, but I am saying that I have hardships too, even as a Christian who is strong in her Faith. You see, God never said we wouldn't face hardships. God never said we wouldn't be tested with adversity. Unfortunately, when man and woman brought sin into the world after disobeying God's command, adversity and hardships were brought into the world with it. At the beginning of this blog, I defined the word endurance for you. Just to reiterate, endurance is the ability to withstand the hardships and adversities we are presented with. Some of you may be thinking, there is no way to withstand the battles I am fighting. There is no way to get through what I'm going through. There is no way I am going to overcome this. And some of you may be even thinking that the world would be better off without you in it. That you cannot handle the battles any longer and want to put it all to an end. I am here to tell you that no matter what adversity you are facing, whether it be depression, suicidal thoughts, a lost job, the death of a family member, self-hatred, self-consciousness, self-image, stress, anxiety, isolation.. whatever it may be, you're not alone. We are all fighting our own battles, but I am here to tell you that you don't have to go into battle alone. You see, Jesus already endured the biggest battle when He went to the cross and gave himself willingly to forgive us of our sins, so that way we no longer have to endure our battles alone. He loved each and every one of us so much, He endured the pain and torture, so we could have the free gift of salvation if we accept it. You see, I face battles and hardships. Sometimes they place so much stress on me, I find myself lost and broken. But then I am reminded that I am a child of God. I have a Savior who is ready to endure the battle alongside me. Hebrews 12:1-2 states, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that way set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God". So regardless of what lies ahead, just know that we have all the tools we need to run the race of life with endurance, because Jesus is there running alongside us, and He already endured and overcame the ultimate battle of sin and is now sitting in Heaven at the right-hand side of God helping us run the races we face in life. I want you to know that you are not alone. I want you to know you have all the tools you need to finish the race. If you're unsure what those tools are, I can help you. Jesus and the Word of God. It is all you need to win the race. Surround yourself with people who encourage you in your faith and people who can help you when you're facing battles and help you endure them. People who will point you back to God. People who will encourage you to open up your Bible and read and grow. People who will remind you that Satan has no hold on you and no matter what battles he throws your direction, your God will help you overcome them. People who will hold you accountable when you start to drift from God. Those are the kind of people you want in your corner when you are faced with adversities. Those are the kind of people you want in your corner when you're struggling to find the endurance to run the race. Those are the people God wants you to have in your life. I pray that no matter what battles you are faced with, what races you are running, what roadblocks are on the road, you allow God to help you with them. You allow God to help you find the endurance to withstand the storms. I pray you keep your eyes on what's important and finish the race strong. I pray you allow God to coach you along the way by reading His Word. I want you to know, you're not alone. You've got this. Run the race. Endure the battles. As a result, you will find that God had your back the whole time and was coaching you all the way to the finish line, even if you didn't realize it. Love you guys always <3