What do you do to Persevere?

The definition of perseverance is persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

When I answered the call that God placed on my life, I mistakenly thought that life would be easy. I really believed that if I was obedient to God that he would protect me from all of the evil that life had to offer me.

I realize now, that I set myself up for failure and was absolutely fooling myself. God was going to test me, every step of the way to see what kind of grit I had. And to see how much perseverance He could squeeze out of me.

Michael was sick long before we answered the calling to start Hello Gorgeous! But it seemed as if the attacks on him became more frequent once we said yes to God.

Sometimes I wondered if I was really seeing what I was seeing. It became apparent that every time something good would happen to Hello Gorgeous! There was an attack on Michael. Inevitably he would end up in the hospital for several days. It tested every fiber of my being. I hated watching him in pain and delirious from a high fever.

There were many times that I would sit in the emergency room and Google "how to dissolve a non-profit organization". All the while Michael is pleading with me, from his hospital bed not to do this.

I would get so overwhelmed with all that I felt on my shoulders. I was taking care of a sick husband, I was doing the best I could for our young son, I was working, as the sole breadwinner, behind the chair as a hairdresser and I was trying to grow a national non-profit organization. Sometimes it was too much. I would try and make a deal with God. I would ask him to bless us with a one million dollar donation so that I could pay someone else to run the organization and I could solely focus on Michael and our son or give Michael a miracle and heal him so that we could continue to pursue the dream of Hello Gorgeous!

Needless to say, neither of those things happened and I had to find a way to persevere and continue to do it all.

These were the 3 things that helped me find my perseverance and to keep going day after day.

My Why

When I would get too focused on the big picture, Michael would always remind me of our why. He would say "It's all about the women." That is my juice! That is why I keep going. To see the transformations that take place and the before and after pictures after a makeover, that's my why. To serve more and more women with cancer and help each of them smile when they look in the mirror.

My Faith

I know that the only reason that I am where I am is because of my faith. I have no doubt that God has carried me for most of this journey. I have relied heavily on that strength that He has given to me.

Changing my Question

I would get so frustrated each time Michael would have to be admitted to the hospital. It would interrupt our daily lives. I don’t know of anyone that enjoys spending time in a hospital, as a patient or a guest. I would constantly ask God "why do we have to go through this?"

When I stepped away from behind my chair as a hairdresser, the 1st thing I did was to hire a life coach. Mickey was wonderful. She encouraged me to change my question from "why?" to "what am I supposed to learn from this?" That was life-changing for me!!!

You can do it!!! You can persevere!! Find your why, lean on God and change your question!!!!

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