Pity Party of One Please

Don't Quit

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit--

Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns'

And many a fellow turns about

When he might have won, had he stuck it out.

Don't give up though the pace seems slow--

You many succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than

It seems to a faint and faltering man;

Often the struggler has given up

When he might have captured the victor's cup;

And he learned too late when the night came down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit'

It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

--Leo Piggot, 1931

I've been struggling the last few days. I can't exactly pinpoint why I've been feeling low, it's a multitude of things really; homesick for my friends, family, and church back in Iowa, feeling overwhelmed with disciplining the kids, the constant testing of my parenting and consistency, feeling guilt over the way I react to my kids rather than respond to them, guilt over not spending time in my relationship with God, not feeling like the good wife and homemaker that I should be, feeling lazy and without motivation to do anything.

The endless "to do" list is constantly running through my head and just thinking of everything there is to do is enough to overwhelm me to the point that I just shut down and do nothing. I would love to have a week in my house by myself, without interruptions to get "caught up" and start fresh.

I just feel generally unhappy right now and I hate it. I know it is just a "funk" I am in and that it will pass, but the "to do" list and everything that I want and need to do will still be here waiting. I also know that if I would get my relationship with God right, everything else would fall in line too. So why can't I just do that? Ugh, I'm so frustrated with myself. I love the poem below because it reminds me of why God allows us to go through these times. So I must ask myself, "what is it that God wants me to learn through this valley?"

It's In The Valleys I Grow

Sometimes life seems hard to bear,

Full of sorrow, trouble and woe

It's then I have to remember

That it's in the valleys I grow.

If I always stayed on the mountain top

And never experienced pain,

I would never appreciate God's love

And would be living in vain.

I have so much to learn

And my growth is very slow,

Sometimes I need the mountain tops,

But it's in the valleys I grow.

I do not always understand

Why things happen as they do,

But I am very sure of one thing,

My Lord will see me through.

My little valleys are nothing

When I picture Christ on the cross

He went through the valley of death;

His victory was Satan's loss.

Forgive me Lord, for complaining

When I'm feeling so very low.

Just give a gentle reminder

That it's in the valleys I grow.

Continue to strengthen me, Lord

And use my life each day

To share your love with others

And help them find their way.

Thank you for valleys, Lord

For this one thing I know

The mountain tops are glorious

But it's in the valleys I grow!

--Author Unknown