Is it Really a Struggle?

 

You know me! I love words so much, and anytime a word can catch my attention in a specific way, I find myself compelled to share what I learned. Today is just such a day.

It's a phrase we say all the time. Or at least I say it all the time. "He really struggles with that." "I really struggle with this." "That's such a struggle for her."

We all know what it means when we say it, right? 

But last week, our co-worker Sean said something that really caught my attention about that phrase and has revolutionized how I think about it. (And it convicted me, too.)

One of our jobs as advocates for our tenants is to know their areas of struggle. We live alongside them and as we get to know them, we begin to recognize the things that create difficulty in their lives. We're here to hold them accountable to overcoming the things that become obstacles for them. It's not always the thing our tenants love most about us, but I can say confidently that the tenants who are truly looking to grow and mature do usually come around to understand that our accountability is for their own good and they eventually appreciate it. 

Sometimes as a team, we'll brainstorm ways to try to help. Could we say this and get the tenant to think differently? What if we tried this incentive? What if we shared examples from our own pasts? We try to think creatively and vulnerably to find anything that will be helpful.

We were in one of those brainstorming sessions when Sean said, "You know, the problem is, this really isn't a struggle for that tenant. It's actually very easy. We'll be gaining some ground when it actually becomes a struggle."

Stop.

It's so true! Sometimes the obstacles we face really are not struggles at all! We are very comfortable in our behavior, even though it's detrimental to us. We aren't struggling at all. We're sailing along doing our thing, and it's so much a part of who we are that we just do it. 

And on the day we see it for what it is and decide we need to make a change, THEN we start to struggle. And that day will be a good day because we have finally started to struggle.

Who knew struggling could be a good thing? 

So it's the question I'm asking myself right now: What things in my life would I perhaps say I struggle with, but I really don't. Not yet. Right now I'm happily and comfortably doing it my way. Where do I need to struggle in order to grow?

I don't know if this steps on your toes, but my GOODNESS, it has stepped on mine! 

They say the struggle is real. Maybe it's not real enough for some of us in certain areas. Maybe the struggle needs to get real so we can move on to growth, healing, and maturity.

Think about it with me?