I posted this image the other day on Instagram (P.s. if you’re not following me over there, join in on the party!) because the significance of the events I’ve been able to work this year finally hit me. I started Orange Thread in 2008. Which means 2018 is the beginning of our 10th year in business. And this year has looked significantly different from that very first year.
When we first got started, I was doing whatever I could to pay my monthly bills. I would work every day I could get. The word “no” wasn’t in my vocabulary and I had no clue where the next “paycheck” would come from.
That may sound romanticized or overhyped, but it was 100% my life for a few months, well into our first year of business.
I wanted to quit so many times. But I didn’t.
Because I wasn’t going to let anyone else (or anything) write the story God intended for my life.
Fast forward through those 10 years… and you’ll end up to 2018. Just last week I got a chance to work an event with the Vice President of the United States. On top of that, this is only three weeks after I got a chance to work an event connected to Super Bowl 52. (Check my Instagram story for that fun!)
And that’s what I want to encourage you with today.
You never know what the second, third or fourth act of your story is going to be as you look at your circumstance today. Because if you’re reading this, your story isn’t over. You and I have a choice to make any time we face trials or resistance as we step into our God-given calling.
We can quit OR We can persevere.
When we quit, we allow other people’s stories and other factors in our life to write the remainder of our story. We give them a “co-write” on our life. We lose some of our creative potential.
When we persevere, we recognize that there’s purpose in our process. There’s power in our prolonging. And in doing so, we’ll see the providence in our pain.
Don’t believe me? Read the second part of Acts 16, where Paul and Silas are thrown in jail (wrongfully) and then choose to stay in prison, after a miraculous event, because they understand that their purpose was in their position, not their pleasure.
Don’t let anyone else write the rest of your story. God is the only Co-Author of your life. So no matter what comes your way… losing that job, failing that test, arguing with your spouse or fighting to find margin in your day to get your responsibilities done… your ability to persevere is equal to your ability to write your own story.
This article originally appeared here.
