Better Choices On Difficult Days

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial.

—James 1:12

I tend to think that when everything is going well, I have the margin to do hard things, to make good choices—to read instead of watch TV, to eat well instead of eat poorly, to engage in deep conversation instead of chatter about other people.

But it’s really the opposite, isn’t it? It’s the making of those harder, better choices right while everything’s a mess that makes the mess a little more manageable. I wanted every pizza in the state of Illinois last night. But this morning I would have had to add a sense of failure to my already bruised spirits. I’m not saying I woke up feeling all better. But I do know I could have made it so much worse, that I could have added self-loathing to my tiredness, and that wouldn’t have made it easier to bear.

I’m realizing this after what seems like a lifetime of saying to myself, “Well, you can’t be expected to do something hard on a day like this, can you?” I did expect more from myself, and I did do something hard, and I’m thankful.