Warmer, Safer, Drier

Years ago, I watched the movie “Hope Floats”. Yes, I can be a sap at heart but who doesn’t love a good Sandra Bullock movie thrown in with a singer/actor like Harry Connick, Junior? One of the quotes, Bullock, as the character “Birdie” makes is, “childhood is what you spend the rest of your life getting over”. Indeed, we can all think back to the parts of our childhood we believe we are overcoming. I know I can look back on my formative years and glean the principles for overcoming. Those principles are still used today navigating the challenges, hurdles and obstacles that come our way at different seasons on the life journey.

 I joined the Army and started Basic Training in May 1990 at Fort Dix, New Jersey. I was all in and my intense personality now framed around intense and consistent structure thrived. But it was also physically demanding and grueling, especially on my feet. Six weeks in, no longer able to hide the pain and the limp I could not cover, I was sent to the post doctor. After a series of x-rays, he confirmed stress fractures. The ones in my left foot and knee were nearly healed but my right foot was a mess. Doctors’ orders outweigh the Drill Sergeants and Company Commander’s orders and I was restricted from physical training, any intense physical stress on my legs, and confined to light duty. Basic training was paused and I was stuck with the complex decisions of being recycled or put into a “holdover” company until I healed and could complete the training. A third way was offered and called convalescent leave. I was sent home to Florida for a month to heal and then would have to return back to complete the training. The time of rest complete, I rode a bus back to New Jersey. It was so different not being with my original platoon and my comrades. Put into a “holdover company”, my morale tanked. Now I understood why they sent me home versus staying in that toxic environment. The new drill sergeant’s treated me like a second-class citizen and the title of “sick, lame, and lazy” was my new identity. I was also scared to death of how I would run two miles after a long month of no running. Recovery was presenting as a massive hurdle.

The Sunday before my record Physical Fitness test, scheduled for Tuesday, and after two weeks of training and beginning to run again, I attended a gospel chapel service. The pastor was somewhere in Habakkuk and I remember looking down at a verse and seeing the scripture that defined the rest of my time. The prophet described how God would take a person and make their feet like a deer and take them to the high places. I so needed to have feet like a deer! Later, I found myself in the small PX sipping a drink and thinking about Tuesday. On the jukebox, someone had chosen a Michael Bolton song I had never heard before. Wailing from the speakers as I prayerfully thought about running with the feet of a deer, came the words, “back on my feet again”. Yes, music is a catalyst for inspiration. More, I felt God was speaking to me telling me to trust Him and give it my best. Tears formed as I rested in God’s comfort, provision, and a renewed spirit that I could do this.

Tuesday came with all of its excitement and my anxiousness. I reflected on both verse and song. The other events for the Army Physical Fitness Test had gone well and it was time to run. Feet like a deer and just stay the pace. I ran with worship songs playing in my head. As I approached the finish line I listened intently for my time. Stunned and had to go back and double-check the time. Not only had I finished under the time I needed, I had ran the fastest I had ever run to that point. What a day to sing, back on my feet again. I was on the high places.

How do we overcome when we get the hurdles, roadblocks, and setbacks? How can we flip the identity from, “sick”, “lame”, and “lazy” to “overcomer?”

There are several principles but here are three that I believe are most critical:

1. Identity: Who Am I? I believe one of the greatest existential challenges of this day, and especially in the West, is this question, “who am I?” Going a bit deeper, questions such as, “do I matter, do I have purpose and do I have value?” Why are these important questions? Because we live in a throwaway society. Everything is disposable.

How much trash does the average American throw away in a year? 1316 lbs (the weight of  a grizzly bear) and 254 tons as a nation.

How many people are incarcerated and thrown into prison cells with no sense of care or value? 2.3 million people are currently incarcerated- that’s roughly half the state of Alabama

How many abortions each year? Nearly 1,000,000 per year on average

How many homicides each year? 19,141 (2018)

How many die by suicide annually? 47,511 (2019)

These all point to a society that has devalued the most precious of gifts, human life. We see the devaluing of life strung across the spectrum. When we don’t know who we are, when we have no sense of purpose in life or getting out of bed, and we don’t believe anyone cares about us beyond what they can get from us, there is no motivation to overcome anything. Living becomes passive and in some cases, destructive to self and others.

To me, one of the first steps in overcoming any challenge no matter how great or small, is identifying who I am. Being comfortable and at ease with my place on this planet. More importantly, it is a spirit of connection. My best source of identity is to the greatest of Deities. It truly must start with a belief in and following of God through Jesus. Don’t stop reading, please, read on. Why is that? Because if we cannot start with a design and purpose, and one born out of love and desire for fellowship, then we believe our existence is about chance and an accident. If we cannot start with, the Imago Dei (I.D), being created in the Image of God, then our existence is devoid of any meaning beyond personal pleasure and satisfaction which ultimately leads to despair because it is never enough.

Therefore, the first step in overcoming any challenge or hurdle is the constant and foundational belief that you are loved and have value. You were created with purpose and that purpose was for fellowship and connection, no matter if an introvert or an extrovert. You can overcome because you were designed by God to overcome! Who are you? A beloved creation designed to love and be loved!

2. Grit: I love that we are reclaiming this word and having “grit” or being “gritty” is such a positive trait. It exemplifies a person who is filled with perseverance and willing to get dirty. A person whose face and hands may be marked with dust and sweat and keeps going despite the challenge. Those are external markers of something happening inside at the heart, mind, and will level. It’s a person who says to themselves, it may be hard, but it’s not too hard. I’ll find a way. I’ll get to the breakthrough. I will not quit. It’s a person not ruled by pleasure or comfort and willing to experience discomfort. Grit is for the person who runs the 5K but also writes the research paper. Grit embodies the one who trains for that new Army Combat Physical Fitness Test and it’s for the one who takes the extra online course. Grit is for the one who stays in the relationship and friendship when the loved one is hurting, or when they become sick or incapacitated. Grit embodies the person who keeps walking the path of faith even when the path is unclear, rocky, or littered with puddles.

3. Tenacity: While grit paints a picture of one willing to get dirty and somewhat hard and rigid in persevering, tenacity is a nuance that I believe involves some creativity. A tenacious person is one willing to flex and bend to accomplish the goal or solve the problem. Tenacity is the long game. It is the drive to complete a project or task that takes a lot of energy and effort but also considerable time. The person who plugs away at the degree for four years while working and raising a family. It is the person who may have failed in a business but had a dream to start a new one and relaunches. Tenacity does not dismiss a failure or setback, it uses it as a stepping stone and launch point.

Think about where you have used these attributes in your own life and how they have helped you to accomplish a small goal or solve a complex problem. Do you recognize your inherent worth and value? Are the characteristics of grit shaping how you approach the challenges? Are you able to embrace a tenacious spirit that embraces the challenge even if there might be setbacks and interruptions?

Maybe as you reflect, these attributes are missing or hidden. What are ways you might reclaim them? See how incorporating these beliefs and translating them into action might reshape how you approach the next challenge or hurdle. That is how you will see the fruits marked from overcoming and be termed an “overcomer”.