"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength"

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Endure to the End

Endure to the End? Some days it seems almost impossible to endure anything much less to the end. So often in life people find themselves bombarded with life and aren't quite sure how to keep going. I have been pondering these words lately especially because of some changes that have happened to us...I know what else is new right? So I decided to google the words and get their definitions for a better understanding and this is what I found...


Endure:
 to regard with acceptance or tolerance endure noisy children
 to undergo (as a hardship) especially without giving in :suffer <endured great pain>                                                       to continue in the same state : last endured for centuries>
 to remain firm under suffering or misfortune without yieldingendure>

To:
used as a function word to indicate movement or an action or condition suggestive of movement toward a place, person, or thing reached to the city> tothe original idea> to lunch>

The:
used as a function word before a noun denoting time to indicate reference to what is present or immediate or is under consideration the future>

End:
a point that marks the extent of something (2) : the point where something ceases to exist end>

*thanks http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary for the definitions*

Wow, so did you learn as much as I did? So basically we have to remain firm always pressing forward towards the point where something ceases to exist. If I understand that correctly we have to DO something not just leisurely waste this life away. I read a really great quote by an Apostle in my church on Enduring to the End, I am going to show you a couple pieces that really hit home to me on this subject.
  
       "Therefore, enduring to the end is not just a matter of passively tolerating life's difficult circumstances or 'hanging in there"..."Enduring to the end is a process filling every minute of our life, every hour, every day, from sunrise to sunrise."  -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

OK so I actually found two quotes that I like, here is the other one...

      "Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!" -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Basically we have to not be passive, so be actively pressing forward during our trials and also have patience (my favorite "four letter word"). 


During my time as a widow, 2 1/2 years, enduring to the end has seemed almost laughable. I have faced challenges, harsh criticism and more sorrow than you can even imagine and most days I just wanted to throw in the towel and call it quits. But for some reason I can't! I have this desire to endure if not for myself then for my children. I want them to see what enduring to the end is all about. It isn't always a hard thing in fact, it can be one of the most beautiful learning experiences, if we allow it to be.  It can even seem almost easy when we continue "working, hoping and exercising faith". I know we weren't sent here to this earth to fail, even when we feel like all is lost. So keep your chin up, your feet on solid ground and always a prayer in your heart and remember to "Endure to the End!"