It is not over

Ever felt like it was ‘over’?

Have you ever reached the point where it felt like it was all over.

The phone call at 4am from the hospital?

A last minute change that meant the deal wasn’t going ahead.

That relationship you thought was so solid… but is now lost beyond recognition.

A natural disaster, that sweeps away everything you worked so hard for, and feel like your dreams are in a soggy heap.

Or that moment, where you’re standing beside the grave and part of you feels like it’s also in that coffin… leaving you wondering what comes next, yet not even wanting to move forward.

Surely, if it was ever ‘over’, it would be in a moment like this, right?

Cause at moments like these, even the thought of looking to see if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel can be too much to bear…

Sometimes, it just hurts.

And all of this… all the uncertainty, all the pain, the not being sure if you even want move forward… is ok.

It may sure feel like it is ‘over’ and there may be loss, but there is also tomorrow and there is something else on the way.

It’s not over… Based on what?

There is one thing that challenge will often do, is take us back to our foundation.

Consequently, the hardest challenges to overcome, are the ones that threaten the very ground on which we stand. If your confidence and esteem is primarily in your job or business, and this goes, you’ve got a big challenge.

Sometimes what makes our challenges so challenging, is the realisation that perhaps, we had a foundation that couldn’t sustain the life we fought so hard to build.

However, needing to build on a different foundation, while unsettling, is not the end.

So many meaningful things are built, only after a new, more suitable foundation has been established.

There are many things that appear to provide a suitable foundation, but few that truly withstand.

For me, the foundation has been in found through faith in my Creator… when things built elsewhere failed, this one stood true.

What is the foundation that you’re building on?

If you’ve got a foundation bigger than you, stronger than your challenge, and brighter than your darkness… it’s not over.

Should your foundation fail… it may be time to find a better foundation, but it’s still not over.

Rebuilding can be done.

Is it over, or is it a seed of something new?

It must’ve been when I was about twelve, that after finishing some mangoes one day, that I had the great idea to plant a few of the seeds.

Months later, the seeds had started to sprout. My curiosity led me to remove some of the soil near one of the seeds that had sprouted… but I couldn’t find a seed, instead there was a clump of roots.

What I had discovered, was the truth that until a seed dies, nothing sprouts.

The seeds that had ‘died’, had paved the way for something new, which years later produced mangoes with seeds of their own. Interestingly, the tree that started to grow looked nothing like the seed… having not seen a baby mango tree before that, I didn’t what to expect, other than a seed should grow something and I was willing to put it in an environment where that could happen.

The same is true for many of things that appear ‘over’ in our own life.

There is something new that can sprout from it. But there is often a period where this is hidden, like a seed hidden in the soil, and it will take some time to wait for it to make sense, seeing what can sprout from it.

Last year, as I faced one of the hardest ‘it looks over’ moments of my life, I was reminded of this principle and wondered what could possible sprout from it… perhaps this article is one of the leaves of what is emerging. Either way, it’s not over. Bringing something new, yes, and from it, there will be even more seeds.

Seeds need the right environment

If I’d hung onto the mango seeds, locking them away in my room, it would be silly to expect a mango tree to grow, wouldn’t it?

The seed needs the right environment, where its potential can be unlocked and it can make way for something to grow out of it.

Likewise, the seeds of potential within our challenge, need to be properly positioned, so that what can’t be revived in its current state, can make way for something new and have the right surroundings to get established.

The fact that you’re reading a blog like this, shows that you have an understanding of the importance of environment… what and who else are you putting in your environment to feed your potential?

Put an end to distraction, not your purpose

With all the noise and busyness of the everyday, it’s all too easy to shift from what we aspire to and drift from one activity to the next with an increasing disconnect from our purpose and passion.

When challenge confronts us and shouts through the noise, there are times when life greets us with an unruly wakeup call.

What do you do, when what you hoped for isn’t there… what you had is gone, and what hoped wouldn’t happen, has happened?

If it should be the end of anything, what should it be?

Perhaps it’s an opportunity to re-evaluate what is truly valuable, what should really have our focus and who we can help with what we learn from this.

In this case, if anything should be ‘over’, it should be distraction we say goodbye to, of trying to build on shaky foundations and holding back from truly being authentic about really matters.

Life isn’t always easy or fun, but it can be lived on purpose… every day and in every season, there is good reason to be alive.

It’s ok to not understand, to struggle and have times where it doesn’t make sense… just don’t do it alone. Hang out with people who have their foundation sorted and dare to look for what good will sprout from even your darkest challenge.

Most of all, remember, it’s not over, the best is yet to come.