You stayed up late and now you’re tired the next day, you’re late to an event, you made a mistake and now someone is getting after you about it, or that one thing you promised yourself you wouldn’t do, or eat, is staring you in the face… What do you do? Do you give in? Why? Is it easier? I think that has a lot to do with what happens when we face challenges. We fall flat on our faces and stay there. Sometimes with a heel squishing our faces deeper and deeper into the mud. Why? Because trying to fight that heel is harder than just letting it push us in. Is that best? No. We know that. “But I just don’t have the time, or the energy, or the will power or the…” We make excuses.

So now, let’s get real. No more excuses. Let’s get up out of the mud and fight that heel, fight against temptation, guilt, doubt, and laziness. Why? Because suffering produces endurance. When we struggle through any challenge we become stronger on the other side, with a greater ability to overcome that struggle in the future. But, that endurance also makes you a better person. No longer do you have to hold on to that guilt, doubt, laziness, or temptation, you can be so much more than defeat. The best of it is, that the character that builds with each endurance, produces hope within you, hope that you will defeat the next challenge that approaches. Is it going to be easy getting up from the mud? Never. But it’s worth every ounce of struggle you can give, because it’s the suffering that will change you into a better person. It’s not about the success, although that is great. It’s about enduring through suffering, that is what builds character. That’s what will mold and shape you into a great person… suffering.