Footblog #8: Perseverance and Positivity

The Little Brown Jug
(Trophy of the game between Michigan and Minnesota)

After the extremely necessary bye week, we won our first Big Ten game on Saturday against Minnesota. The last several games have looked more than a bit lackluster, and we struggled to pull through against teams that we should have been easily defeating. This week, I watched what I like to call the 'real' team; instead of making mistake after mistake and just squeaking by with a win at the end, the Wolverines gave it their all and it certainly showed. Obviously it wasn't a perfect game, but we're once again building momentum, have learned from our mistakes, and are a force to be reckoned with. Our teammates needed to trust the coach, keep a positive attitude, and persevere.

It begs the question: with a little perseverance and positivity, how far could each of us go in our own lives? Are we going to give up at the slightest mention of a difficult situation just because we don't think we have the strength, the patience, the gumption to tackle it? Are we going to allow ourselves to get mired down in a depression when things don't go our way?

My day yesterday, for instance, was pretty cut and dry. I was supposed to have a short photo shoot for the magazine I work for, then a six hour shift at my second job; then I was going to go home to change and drive to Elkhart to clean a new house (my third job.) All of that happened until I got about five minutes into the drive to Elkhart and the serpentine belt in our only vehicle shredded like a cabbage on its way to becoming cole slaw (okay, so my similes need some work). The power steering immediately went out, and I had to stop driving 60 MPH, pull off to a county road, and let it coast off the edge because it died completely, then call my husband to have him call my father-in-law for a rescue, then call a tow truck, text the client I had to let down for the evening, and spend the night at home.

My options:

1) Trust God to take care of this situation, remain positive, and persevere
2) Panic, rant, and become an emotional train wreck

Thankfully, I chose option #1. I've spent a great deal of time in my past trying to control every single situation down to the most minute details and then having panic attacks and depression when things don't go my way. I've chosen option #2 more times than I'd like to admit, and it's NEVER ONCE been the right choice. For all that panicking, ranting, sobbing, woe-is-me-ing that I've done, it's only been when I turn things over to God that the situation begins to improve. Eventually, I learned to go there first. (Duh. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you." You'd think I'd have learned it after I'd read it four or five times, huh?)

So, I'm sans vehicle with plenty of plans for the upcoming week, but I know that God's Got This and I don't need to spend a moment of time worrying about it. If the car no longer works and can't be fixed, then He's got something else in mind for us. If the car costs $1000 to fix, He's got a way to provide it for us. My job is to trust Him, keep a positive attitude, and keep working toward the goals He has for me.

Stephanie Jean