life is a mental and spiritual battlefield. Life is
truly going to be what you make it. You
have the choice and power to shift your mind towards certain energy and
thoughts. Some moments may be more of a struggle than others, but each moment
counts.
Have you ever heard of the term “muscle memory”? It is a second nature habit that is acquired
through continual repetition. If a
person plays “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” on a piano over and over again, they
will eventually be able to play the song without any thought at all. Now, if
the pianist practices the song perfectly then it’s beneficial. Imagine,
however, if the pianist practiced the song incorrectly, everyday, for three
years. It’s a pretty hard habit to break. The same muscle memory works with
your mind. When you continuously find the positivity in your life, it becomes
easier to call on your inner joy. However, when you exercise a mindset of
bitterness and negativity, your spirit will get accustomed.
When adversity strikes you, you have the choice to recognize that moment as the enemy’s attempt to steal your joy. You have the option to
seek out the light in the darkest moments. When faced with hardship, you have
to be resourceful with the thoughts you have. I’ll give a personal example. I lost my mother at the age of
sixteen. It was by far, the hardest day of my entire life. Now, when I face
adversity, I have two mental and spiritual options:
1.
I could stack the problems I have on top of one another
and sit underneath the burden. I could say, “God, why this too?” I could gather the all my hardships and
pile them until I feel overwhelmed and sit in that misery. Trust me, it has
happened. When I lost one of my bestfriends, Samantha, I thought, “God, why am I losing another person close to me? My mother, now her?” I piled all
of my frustration (my finances, my stress, my past heartbreaks, my past losses,
and the deaths of my loved ones) and pitied myself for all of the things that hindered me. Honestly, that’s the worse thing you can do. It makes you
self-deprecating and selfish.
2.
I also have the option to use my hardships as a
litmus test for the next trial I encounter.
When God says that he will never give you more than you can bear, he
isn’t lying. You simply do not know your own strength. When my mother died, I
thought my mind would “snap” at any moment. I literally waited for the moment
that I would go into a dark, mental place. Instead, I found strength in myself
that I did not know existed. Now, when I come across adversity, I have
to stop and think, “Stevi, you have endured worse. Through Christ, you have the
means to get through anything.” Yes, you will cry at times and fall apart. Yet,
you have to get back to joy. Even when you do not have the solution directly in front of
you, put faith in God that things will work.
The mind and spirit are muscles that need to be exercised continuously. It is the little things. The key is to keep awareness about
you. You need to remember that everything is not about you. things could be worse.
things will get better.
“We will never enjoy life unless we make a quality
decision to do so,” Says Joyce Meyers, “Joy and enlightenment are available
just as misery is available. Righteousness and peace are available and so are
condemnation and turmoil.”
