IT’S NOT OKAY TO STOP TRYING

In life obstacles, hardships and challenges are guaranteed. Inevitably, things will not go as planned or how we hoped, but that does not mean that we give up and stop trying; that we throw in the towel and beckon towards death or a quick distraction.

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Hardships should not limit us but encourage us to evolve as our circumstances change.

Overcoming challenges are never easy. Many times these roadblocks seem incessant, unmovable and lonely. It is natural for us to want to give up and call it quits, but in most cases, the second we decide to stop trying is when we miss our breakthrough.
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This reminds me of the fable, ‘The Farmers Donkey.’ I​t is a well-known tale that goes like this:

One day a farmer's donkey fell into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down.

​A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

This fable teaches us to keep trying, to never stop squeezing our lemons into lemonade. Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt (from family members, friends, a significant other, an authority figure, and if not from a person(s) then various daily situations), but the trick is to get out of the well. The only way to do this is by shaking off the dirt that holds you captive and taking a step up.

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However, it isn’t easy to do this. Some circumstances require us to cry out and feel the tears. They consist of a lot of shaking and a lot of will to overcome, but in times like these, we must think of those infamous what if's. What if the donkey had accepted defeat; it would have died. Its cries impacted hardened hearts; its patience and determination affected no one as they continued to pour the sand because they had already given up.

As humans, we can relate to this in our situations. In hard times we lose the companionship of others as they have already written us off. When we begin to show signs of improvement, a helping hand seems nonexistent, and it isn't until we overcome that praises ring. Nonetheless, we must remember that just like the donkey, some of our obstacles bring us 6 feet under, and it is up to us to decide whether to accept defeat or keep on pushing. Our mindset needs to reflect the attitude of the donkey in the fable. It could have given up and continued crying but, instead, it treated each setback as a steppingstone.

​We must believe that we can escape from the deepest wells by not stopping and never giving up!

Keep on reading to learn more to help you be more like a jewel on God´s crown
¨ The LORD their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.¨ Zechariah 9:16 NIV
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Author

Samantha Ellis