“I don’t need easy…”

Hanging in my living room, there is a sign that I had made for my husband several years ago. A dear friend made it for us, and it simply reads “I don’t need easy…I need possible.” I found myself thinking about that phrase the other night. “I don’t need easy…”

Though the sign was made by a friend at my request, I cannot take credit for the quote. In the movie Soul Surfer, Bethany Hamilton says this to her father when she was working to return to surfing after she lost her arm in a shark attack. Basically, she is responding to his comment that training for a comeback would not be easy. “I don’t need easy…I need possible,” Bethany says in the movie.

Now, the last several months have been anything BUT easy for me. I have had more changes in my life in a short period of time, that many never experience until a lot later, if at all. Between all the changes, and adjusting that has come a result, I can say beyond the shadow of a doubt that it has not been easy, and I know that it is not over yet, either.

The last few months have not been the only difficult portions of my life. As I sit here writing, I can think of many times when things were more difficult than expected. I look back over my 46-plus years and can see potholes that made life at the time almost unbearable. But there is something else I see when I look back at all of those difficult times. Each difficult time was followed by a period where I can look back and say “I made it through.” I can see that each difficult time was followed by a period where it was obvious that things were possible, although not easy.

As I was thinking of my living room sign last night, I was reminded that we are not promised that life will be easy. There are going to be difficult times throughout our lives. There are going to be times where we don’t think we will make it through. And sometimes, the difficult times make us fall and cause us to cry, scream, yell, and take ourselves just to the edge of falling apart and giving up. But we pick ourselves up, wipe ourselves off, and move forward. So, when you are going through times that are difficult, times where you really consider giving up, remember…you don’t need easy, you just need possible. And believe me, speaking from experience, anything is possible, until you quit. So, don’t quit!

As I look at the last several months, I can see times that I was on the verge of giving up. Times when I felt like things were just too difficult. But I know that, since everything is possible, I WILL make it to easier times. And I will be stronger for it. So, I encourage you to hold to the belief that you don’t need easy (because, honestly, no one gets strong easily), you just need possible. Set, set you mind to where you want to be, and go for it. Because, in reality, you can make it, as long as you believe it is possible.