Power to Persevere

Its so easy to give up. Anyone can quit, but it takes strength and faith in an higher power to persevere. I am a living witness that no matter where you come from, no matter what has come your way, you can be a winner. You can make it. You can persevere! The odds were against me from the very beginning. I was born to a single mother on government assistance in rural Pitt County. My father entered the NC correctional system while I was still a toddler. I vividly remember being without plumbing in the "stone house" as we called it. In the early 1990s my mother, sisters and I had to boil water to bath, eat, and drink. Despite these conditions my mother made it her duty to ensure that my sisters and I were well fed, well dressed, and well mannered. I remember watching her struggle daily so that we could have have basic necessities. I will never forget the sacrifices that my mother made for my sisters and I. From my mother I learned how to persevere. My mother showed me that no matter how difficult things may seem brighter days are on the way if we believe. The power of perseverance was instilled in me at an early age, however the challenges that I faced recently have tested my perseverance. Not too long ago I went through one of the darkest moments in my life. I felt like everyone was against me. I stopped praying. I stopped going to church. I fell into a deep depression. I was on the very verge of dropping out of college, despite being the first one in my family to go. I leaned how to persevere from my mother, but I learned how to keep persevering from God! I am thankful today that God allowed me to see that the challenges that I went through was for the better making of me. The better making of my ministry. The perfecting of the gifts that God has given me to give to the world. Its not my accident or mistake that you are reading this post. I encourage you to lift your head. Don't worry about what people have to say. this may be your seventh time falling, but guess what? God is still right there to lift you up! God wants to see you happy! Life is too short to be depressed. I implore you to pray and seek God's will for your life. He will give you the power to persevere!