One of my favorite books to read to my preschoolers is We're Going on a Bear Hunt. A family sets out on an adventure & meets lots of obstacles ... a field of tall grass, a deep river, thick mud, a dark forest, & a horrible snowstorm. Each time they meet a new obstacle they say, "can't go over it, can't go under it, we've got to go through it!"
Have you ever just "had to go through it?!?"
Sometimes wouldn't you just rather go over, around, under a situation ... anything instead of going through it?
I am an avoider by nature. I hate confrontation. I would much rather go over or around things rather than go through them.
I've had to learn (mostly the hard way) that going over & around things never really works out that great. Usually, all it does is put off the inevitable ... the going through it!
You know what I've discovered? After I've gone through a situation I was absolutely dreading, more than not I look back & see it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I had talked myself into how horribly uncomfortable & inconvenient it all would be. I had let myself believe the absolute worst case scenario & played out all of the ways it would all go wrong in my imagination.
So many times I've come out on the other side of a situation & found myself so much better off than I was before. Had I not gone through the obstacle, I would never have known the joy that was waiting for me on the other side!
So the next time you are facing a field of tall grass, a deep river, or thick mud ... or just a situation you are dreading ... don't think of the million different ways you can avoid it. Go ahead & go through it ... the other side is waiting for you!
"Be strong! Be courageous! Do not be afraid!
The Lord will be with you. He will never leave you or forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:6
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