Week 8--Overcoming Challenges

What a powerful lesson this week.  What was the last thing you struggled with and what was your reaction to this struggle? Did you give up because it was too difficult? Did you persevere, allowing yourself to grow?  This lesson on overcoming challenges made me look deep inside myself.  How many times have I taken the easy way out of things? How many times have I given up because I was too embarrassed, too lazy, or too scared?  When was the last time I did finish something I set out to do?  Lately I have been wondering if finishing school is what I really want to do.  As I look at the classes I must take to finish my degree, it frightens me. I set a goal for myself over twenty-five years ago to get an education. My self-doubt kicks into high gear and I start to second guess myself.  Am I smart enough to accomplish this goal? Do I have what it takes to be dedicated to finishing?

“Excellence does not come easily or quickly—an excellent education does not. . . It is simply a truism that nothing very valuable can come without significant sacrifice and effort and patience on our part.

“You will face some delays and disappointments at this formative time in your life and feel that no one else in the history of mankind has ever had your problems or faced those difficulties.  And when some of those challenges come you will have the temptation common to us all to say, “This task is too hard.  The burden is too heavy.  The path is too long.” And so you decide to quit, simply to give up.

“But in life’s most crucial and telling tasks, my plea is to stick with it, to persevere, to hang in and hang on, and to reap your reward.

“I am asking you this morning not to give up “for ye are laying the foundation of a great work.” That “great work” is you—your life, your future, the very fulfillment of your dreams. That “great work” is what, with effort and patience and God’s help, you can become.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “However Long and Hard the Road”, Brigham Young University Speeches, 1982-83)

This quote from Elder Holland put things into perspective for me. Yes, I am older. Yes, education is hard. But excellence doesn’t come easy. I have to work for those things I want. Do I really want to accomplish the goal I set twenty-five years ago? Yes! I need to remember that I will struggle, but God will be there to help me if I let Him.  I need to persevere through the tough classes and reap my reward of accomplishing my goal along with building my confidence that I can do hard things.