Do not pray for easier lives, pray to be stronger men

Lately, there have been cues for me to start searching within for answers. Answers to problems I have been trying to solve for years. The main issue is that of money. I lack it and all the wonderful things that can become because of it.

Last month, I officially lost both of my jobs. One was due to no more work available and the other was due to the company closing its doors in my town, Albuquerque. Regardless of the reason for leaving, I am still left without employment. I finally had to suck up my pride and apply for unemployment benefits.

Part of me plays the victim. The part that says, “It’s not my fault, they’re the one that closed down” or “Life is just too hard for me to survive.”

Just recently I came across a quote from John F Kennedy. He said:

“Do not pray for easier lives, pray to be stronger men.”
-John F Kennedy

After I looked it up, it’s really from a quote from bishop Phillips Brooks:

“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle.”

-Phillip Brooks

These quotes have really spoken to me since I have been feeling the need to step up. Step up in my life as a man that can provide for himself. As someone who someone else can look up to. I want to be a stronger person.

I have always heard people say that it’s too hard or takes too long  at some situations and I bock at that attitude. I think that they are just being a wussy - a coward. At the same time, I have felt the hope I had for anything better for myself fade away. A little bit of projecting I was doing in retrospect.

When it comes to money, the internal reaction for me has been one of avoidance. I will do anything to distract myself from the problem at hand. I will watch TV, eat, sleep, play games and anything else that keeps me my mind of the problem at bay. I’m running from my problems anyway I can.

I always had a strong self-identity about myself that I could do anything spectacular that I focused on. I could be the best. I could solve problems. That part of me is still alive, but I have made it feel helpless, useless, and powerless.

In no way have I figured out how to make money or to solve the basic problem at hand. However, there is a new hope that things can be different. A new sense of vigor can change your life.