Sunday, November 21, 2010

Facing Hard Times? Don't Worry, It's Just Part of the Plan!

Well, we’re kinda winding down from the weekend and a revving up the gears to head back to work – though for those of us in the United States it’ll be a short work week.
Today’s post will be brief – just a note of encouragement for those who might be facing challenges in their lives. Some of you may be going into the holiday season and you’re wondering where your life is headed. Perhaps you’re dealing with a newly broken relationship and this holiday season is one that you dread. Or perhaps the economic crisis has taken its toll on you and you’re trying to get back on your feet.
Whatever the case, I encourage you to see the obstacles that you might now face as part of the plan that will lead to your ultimate success. I wrote the poem Part of the Plan 5 years ago to encourage a friend who was going through a difficult time. It's in my book, Poems of Inspiration: A Daily Dose of Self Motivation I trust it would be an encouragement to you.
Part of the Plan

You hold down your head, you’re feeling so low;
it seems like you never get up off the floor—
for each time you try, you break down and cry;
you look to the heavens and keep asking, “Why?”

“Why do I stumble with each step that I take?
Why do dreams crumble with so much at stake?
Why does it happen again and again—
success is my foe and failure my friend?”

But listen, I tell you—just listen to me—
wherever you stumble, your treasure must be.
The truth of that lesson I’ve learned in my life:
success is not far from your pain and your strife.

I know it’s been hard, I know it’s been tough;
the blows that you’ve taken are more than enough.
And yet you’re still standing—you haven’t been beat;
I knew that you never could accept defeat.

Now here’s your reward: a story to tell
of the struggles you had and the times that you fell.
A story of courage and of victory;
a story to lead you to your destiny.

Make sure that you tell each listening ear
to march on ahead, for there’s nothing to fear.
For each time you falter and feel all alone,
that stumbling block is your stepping stone.

So now do you see why you suffered so long?
It’s all been designed to make sure you’re strong.
So fight on with joy; I’m your biggest fan.
Victory’s assured—that’s part of the plan.


Be sure to read tomorrow’s post. I will share with you my personal story that took me from the crisis of my divorce in 2001 to the happiness of my marriage now in 2010. It’s a story that I feel certain will be an encouragement to you.
Enjoy the rest of today. We’ll “speak” tomorrow!
The Upbeat Dad

2 comments:

  1. These words are indeed encouraging! Sometimes we get discouraged when we don't immediately see the fruit of our labor. We will be more appreciative of our success when it happens, because of the difficult road we traveled to get there.

    I'm not sure what the statistics are, but many lottery winners go broke within years of winning. Perhaps for them 'success' was easy and they could not appreciate the difficult road we travel on the way to success.

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  2. Thanks much for sharing. Very encouraging indeed. A friend of mine says, "You have to go through it to get to it." With the lotto winner stats, many times they didn't have to "go through it" so the lessons they needed to learn weren't learned, so they end up right where they started.

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