It is October 2, 2018, day 10 of sharing. I am writing a bit every few days about my thoughts, motivations, ideas and dreams. This week at the school we are talking to the middle schoolers about grit and perseverance. Dictionary dot com defines perseverance as “Steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties,obstacles, or discouragement. This I know far to well.
I have shared a bit of the story of coming to San Diego with Steps of Justice and trying to find my place in it all. I knew I wanted to work with refugees, but I was not sure how that would happen. I made a phone call to my friend Jon Huckins and he hooked me up with a meeting with my now good friend and partner in crime David, who took me to a refugee resettlement agency. A few weeks later I got a text from the refugee resettlement agency with an address of a newly arrived Somali refugee family in City Heights. My job was to pick up the kids and take them to register for school. I remember sitting outside the families house, slightly paralyzed with fear as I had no Idea what to expect.
This happened on a weekly basis, and each time I sat outside a families home I had to force myself to get out of the car, walk up to the house, knock on the door and invite the mom and kids to school to register their children. It took a lot of grit and perseverance, and I gained a lot of character through it. I was learning a new culture, figuring out the education system, engaging in conversations with people who only spoke Arabic and hoping I didn’t mess things up to badly.
The two reasons that I got to be in the place where I am at right now is:
- The favor of the Lord
- My perseverance
I kept showing up, registering kids, loving the best I knew how and not giving up. These steps can work for all of us, and in all situations. I think we may give up and throw in the towel way to quickly. We get frustrated, discouraged, tired and end up giving up, before we see the breakthrough that we dream of. We need more of us who will stick it out, dig our heals in, grit and bear it. Then, we will see the reward on the other side.
