Just Keep Going...

I love my job. L-O-V-E. I work in a school full of adults that passionately love their students, and one that is full of students that are simply amazing. I have been given such a gift in that I get to help some of them walk through whatever situations they may be dealing with at home. I love being able to help them look at their problems in new ways, to strategically come up with new solutions, and to establish new patterns of behavior that will benefit them in the future.

But some days the problems are big. Bigger than I can begin to fix in a 30 minute counseling session. Bigger than I can fix in ten counseling sessions. Well...bigger than I can fix, period.

The world today is hard. Kids are having to deal with many things that I never did when in school. Some of them are dealing with wounds from family members that left them battered physically, emotionally or sexually. Some of them are desperately seeking the love that they never received from a parent. Some are trying to simply find where they "fit" in this world, and in a stressful place called High School. Some have experienced more trials and hardships in their short lives than I have ever come close to experiencing in mine.

It is hard. I hurt for them. I hurt with them. It can be overwhelming.

So today, I have been repeating these two verses to myself. Over. and Over. and Over.
Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

2 Thessalonians 3:13: And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

The purpose of this post is not to whine or complain. I am blessed. Blessed abundantly to get to work with these students. I guess I am writing to encourage you to never stop trying to do good. To never stop putting your best forward into the world in an attempt to make it a brighter place. There are some sad, lonely, hurting people around you, and you may just be the brightest light that they will encounter anytime soon.

Does it get hard? Yes. Are there days that it would seem easier to give up? Yes. But is it worth it? YES!

Jane Goodall said, "What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." So even when it's hard, even if it seems useless, even when you think no one cares...keep going.