Persevere

This past week my wife and I met Tim, a great waiter at a well-known restaurant in Atlanta. Tim came to the table and served us well, yet, you could tell he was a bit down or bothered by something. “You okay?”, I asked. He went on to reveal that he owned a retail store and works as a waiter at night. The store was being decimated by the economy and he ended his melancholy answer with, “Thank God I have this job.”

My wife and I spent the next several minutes discussing not only Tim’s plight, but the altering change that millions of people are experiencing. The day before I had received a message that a good friend of mine was shutting down their business - another casualty of the recession.

As Tim returned to take our order I compassionately shared, “Suffering leads to Perseverance. Perseverance leads to Character development. Character leads to Hope.” It is a great quote from the Bible. I added, “Or Suffering leads to Frustration, which leads to Anger, which leads to Depression. Your choice.” I encouraged him to persevere and asked how we could help.

It is your choice and mine as well.

The tough times most people are facing can lead us to frustration, blame, fear, and ultimately depression… OR the tough times can lead us to perseverance, character and hope.

It is actually a choice we can make. Choose hope over depression.

Posted on July 22, 2009 in Personal Growth