The Challenge

 

The Challenge

Every year I start out the year with the hope of growing the perfect garden. We live in a hot climate, so we have to plant early, but not too early, to get the best crop. Some years have been amazing! Some, like this year, not so much. There are years that my table is continually laden with vegetables and fruits. This year just a few onions. I still have hope, the  summer is just starting. Maybe the squash will do well and the carrots will root deep. It takes a lot of patience to grow a garden. I think I will plant a garden as long as I am able.  Already as I look at what is not happening in my garden I am planning and thinking about what I can do next year that will make it better. What keeps me going? What motivates me to keep trying? I think it is "the challenge." Everything I do with my garden I learn from it. I learn that there are many things that contribute to the success of a garden. The only sure way It will be a failure is if I quit trying... So what if I only have a few onions. I have found ways to enjoy them immensely. The onion blossoms are like fireworks and the onions themselves lend flavor to my meals. I guess as with the garden, it is with life...there can be good found in "The Challenge."

My son shared with me a video about overcoming challenges. Rick and Dick Hoyt, known as team Hoyt, is a father and son team that has competed in many marathons and more than 200 triathlons. What is so special? Rick Hoyt was born without the ability to move or speak. His Father Dick pushes, pulls and carries him making record times in these races. (Watch more here.) An absolutely amazing story of faith and hope, and overcoming "The Challenge." Well worth the time to watch. I couldn't imagine a story that teaches the principles I've been learning this week any better than this.

What I Have Learned

• To never give up when times are tough...the smallest of victories can make it worth hanging on through the difficult moments. 
• It is a challenge to find out the root of the problem we are experiencing. When we do, we can work to make corrections.
• I learned that I can keep the faith. In the book The Field Guide for the Hero's Journey by Jeff Sandefer and Rev Robert Sirico, I learned that even in darkness I can believe in light. The authors share and example of a Jew in Cologne, Germany who is said to have inscribed these words on a cellar wall during the Nazi Holocaust:  "I believe in the sun even when it is not shining I believe in love even when I do not feel it I believe in God even when He is silent." (The Hero's Journey).
• Victory takes sacrifice, the kind that may not be realized in this life.
• I've learned that kindness matters and gratitude is the purest compliment to kindness.
• I've been inspired by historical passages that have timeless messages, such as Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream Speech, Winston Churchills plea to "Never give in..." and Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death". (A Field Guide for the Hero's Journey, by Jeff Sandefer and Rev. Robert Sirico.

What I Have Yet to Learn

• How to step into a business venture confidently.
• Still working on listening skills.
• Retention and comprehension skills
• To trust myself
• To be humble, yet fearless!

Spiritual Insights

I recently read the book of Ruth in the Old Testament. Here is a woman who has lost her husband, left her home and moved to a new land and was so poor she had to glean from the fields for food. And yet, she pressed on. With courage.  Facing the challenge usually means hanging in there, pressing on when it seems hard or even impossible. 

Ruth 1:16 

And Ruth said to her mother-in-law Naomi, "Entreat me not to leave the, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:"

Ruth was willing to do the work, to make the sacrifices to honor and care for Naomi. Doing so brought an abundance of blessings.

How am I Doing on My Goals?

This week I thought I would give a bit of an accounting on how I am doing on my goals:

I have enjoyed some yoga. Made ravioli for our Tuesday night cooking experiment. I have made some organizing efforts, but have much room for improvement.

I started out eating between 9 and 6, but it has been such a crazy week I will have to try to do better.

New Goals

• Really ponder who I can have as mentors to help me along my path.
• Read scriptures first thing each day.
• Make a contact list using Excel. (Did I already write that?) If so, I'll try again.
• Work on making my prayers more detailed and meaningful.