You Can Do This Hard Thing

You can do this hard thing
You can do this hard thing
It's not easy I know
But I believe that it's so
You can do this hard thing

These lyrics  written by Carrie Newcomer kept repeating in my head this past week as I prepared to journey with my mother through this hard time. We all watched as her priced possessions accumulated over seventy years were sold at an auction. We also watched as the house that she had raised her three children, mourned the loss of her husband, our dad, been a part of three marriages of her children along with two divorces of her children, the birth of seven grandchildren, and thirteen great grandchildren was sold at the auction. This was a hard thing to do for all of us.

Mom has not lived in the house for over a year and a half because of her failing health. It was not practical to keep paying for all the upkeep to keep this house for storage of things when mom could use the money to pay for other important needs. But even though it was the practical thing to do it was not the easy thing to do.

The cleaning out process began about a year ago as I would take mom up to visit the house and we would look through her things trying to decide what to do with them. We were often distracted by the memories and stories as we discovered an old picture or item that reminded us of the past.  What a gift that God gave us to have this time and the strength he gave us to do this hard thing.

As much as I wanted to escape the pain, I knew that we would have to do this hard thing. God carried us through the pain. The next time you face trials of any kind know “You can do this hard thing” and do not try to escape the pain but let the pain transform you. God will be right there beside you, or if necessary, He will carry you.