Do Hard Things-My Thoughts So Far

I don't know how many of you have heard of Alex and Brett Harris.  Ever heard of www.therebelution.com?  Well, if you haven't, you should check them out.  Alex and Brett are the younger twin brothers of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" author Josh Harris.  Their book, "Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations" has been out for a while, but I received it when I graduated from HS in 2009.  I started to read it, but quickly lost interest in it and never picked it back up until recently.

I don't know why I picked it back up; something inside me just really wanted to read it, to see what it had to say to me.  I can say that I'm very glad I listened to that little voice because it's been a rewarding read.  I haven't yet finished it (I'm to part 3), but it's said some things to me that I've taken to heart.  I was reading it when I volunteered at one of the vet clinics in town in 2009, and the technician asked me what I was reading.  I showed her the book and her response was, "Hard Things?  I don't want to do hard things!"  If she only knew.

Doing hard things can be small things.  One example I love that they gave in the book was "drudging along through chemistry".  Boy, I can certainly relate to that!  I didn't think I would make it through my first semester of chemistry, but I did.  And with a B.  *Yeah I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw that on my transcript*.  Chemistry was certainly a hard thing for me to do, and in the big scope of things, it wasn't all that important!  I mean, it must not seem important to most people.  It was to me.  I had an inner drive to do my best at that course because I didn't want to fail.  I stumbled and fell a couple of times, but I didn't fail.  Even with the death of my Papaw, and even before then, with his failing health, I was able to focus on my ultimate goal: making the best grade I could on the final that would raise my grade to a B.  I don't even know how I stayed focused during finals.  Inside I was an emotional wreck; I had a friendship coming to a screeching end, one of the men I loved the most was dying, and I wasn't sure if I was going to pull through the semester with a C or not.  The hard things that I find hardest are pretty small.  College is a "hard thing" that I have to adapt to; I have to learn to adjust how I study, how I work, and that doesn't stop with the first semester.  Every week I have to re-adjust a schedule, or how I do things....and sometimes it's infuriating.

"The problem is that when you stay inside your comfort zone, you're essentially refusing to surrender your life fully to God; you're avoiding the hard things He is calling you to do."-Paraphrased from the book.

I think that really sums up this post.  My hardest thing in life is getting out of my own comfort zone, something I have to do often.  In fact, this fall, I'll be forced to get out of my comfort zone as I move to Mississippi (11 hours away from home), and start on my own.  Do you know how scary the very thought of that is?  Yet I know that God has something awesome in store for me if I'll just trust Him and follow where He leads.  If you don't take a step out of your comfort zone and be willing to follow Him, why call yourself a Christian?  Why claim to want to serve Him?  

 Get out and do hard things! And pick up this book before you do. You won't regret reading it.