Don't let your struggles defeat you

Collecting shells has always been a favorite pastime of mine. I remember growing up and vacationing at the Jersey Shore and how I’d walk along the beach looking for that perfect shell. Today I was there seeking a little solitude from my hectic schedule. As a single father of 9 young children, it’s important to get some me time as often as possible.

I live less than an hour from that same beach area I went to growing up. I went to see if I could grasp some memories from the past, sort out some things in my life and to be closer to God. The beach always did that for me. There’s something about being near that huge reckless body of water that puts me closer to Him and surrounds me with peace like ocean mist on a summer morning.

The beach is empty except for a few weary seagulls looking for food. They come just close enough to check me out but turn to run when I move towards them. It’s cloudy, cold and windy and the sea is rough. There are a lot of shells on the beach this morning. As I walk along sorting out my thoughts I scan the shore for that perfect one. I stop to look at the jetty we used to play on as kids. I breathe deeply of that great salty air and remember the good times we had as kids watching fishermen there.

Then I spot a small snail shell that’s washed up in the midst of millions of tiny pieces of other shells. It’s all alone among the broken, shattered shells that the waves have kicked up.

As I examine it I think of myself. I too have been tossed and turned in the waves of life and have survived. I’ve come through a very hard time - losing my wife of 15 years to cancer then adapting to single parenthood of a very large family.

Like the small pieces of shells, things around me break apart but somehow I stay whole. And while the shell is scarred, it is still beautiful. Very much like me. 

Despite our struggles, in Gods eyes, we are still full of beauty. And sometimes he allows those struggles to come to us to train us and shape us so we can stand out on the beach of life as his precious examples.

So now I keep my shell in front of me on a daily basis as a reminder of all I’ve gone through and how I’m still beautiful in Gods eyes and how, by His grace, I’m going to be ok.

So don’t let your struggles defeat you. Instead, let them define you.

I know you can do it and I definitely believe in you!