Don't Let the Hard Days Win

Life Stuff

Don’t Let the Hard Days Win

I stared at the words inside the chocolate wrapper. “Don’t let the hard days win.” How I needed that reminder! I stuck it on a paper beside the sink, below a song that I had written out. I paused, rereading the song’s first stanza.

Show my Thy face! One transient gleam of loveliness divine,

And I shall never think or dream of other love save Thine.

All lesser light will darken quite, all lower glories wane;

The beautiful of earth shall scarce seem beautiful again.

-Anonymous, from Hymns of the Church

I had copied the song on another hard day, and had sung its four verses, pleading, many a time.

Because we can’t get around it—some days are hard. At the best of times, we have days that feel faded, joyless, and dull. But we feel the struggle of it in a way that is hard to overcome especially when we are dealing with grief, loss, or suffering—whether it is brought on by the death of a loved one, sickness, any kind of loss, or emotionally taxing experiences.

What are “the hard days?” Looking back on hard seasons in my life, this is my list:

· Days when it’s hard to choose joy because sadness wants first place

· Days when I wonder if the journey toward wholeness will ever end

· Days that dawn feeling long and purposeless, with empty hours to fill—with what, when I hardly feel able? When I’d almost rather stay in bed than face what the day might be like?

· Days when I feel weary from trying so hard to be patient with less-than-desirable circumstances

· Days when I question the process of redemption or the slow move toward restoration

· Days when despondency sits on my shoulder and nags

How do I keep the hard days from winning? One time when it felt urgently important that I take control of the processes in my mind, I grabbed a list pad and pen from my drawer and wrote this:

· Tell God that it feels hard

· Sing, even if I don’t feel like it

· Focus on what is good about this moment

· Don’t try to live the whole day at once

· Thank God for every little thing I can think of

· Look for things to do to give purpose to the hours

· Pray for others who are on hard journeys

· Don’t compare this day to past days that felt “better”

At the top of the page, I wrote in capital letters, “Choose hope, positivity, courage, and joy.”

At other times, I got my writing therapy notebook and scribed all the positive words I could think of across it in flowing script. I opened my gratitude journal and kept it where I could sit down at any time and fill it with pages of every smallest thing I was thankful for, all day. I created playlists of music, titled “Encourage,” “Uplifting,” and “Courage.” Even though they always made me cry, it was worth it. Tears are cleansing; a release of emotions that are hard to name, emotions that God understands nevertheless.

“If you have no joy, there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere,” Billy Sunday is reported to have said. Perhaps it is true, but that “leak” might not always be something I have chosen. It may be a crack from a blow life has dealt; it may be the seeping sorrow of weariness in battle.

But I know how it is for me—if I fail to be intentional about not letting the hard days win, more and more joy oozes out of my life. The hours drag, I find it almost impossible to be pleasant, and anxiety takes over. But the more I choose joy, thanksgiving, and surrender, the easier it becomes to be winner on the hard days. God is the great Repairer of joy leaks. I may not choose the leaks, but I can choose how I deal with them.

Hard is hard. Hard is not bad. Hard is not impossible. With God to help me, I can win. Or, to use David’s words from Psalm 60:12a, “With God we shall do valiantly.”