{"id":5908,"date":"2017-06-14T13:17:16","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T19:17:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pastorbrad.blog\/?p=2390"},"modified":"2017-06-14T13:17:16","modified_gmt":"2017-06-14T19:17:16","slug":"struggles-bring-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freshhope.us\/es\/struggles-bring-strength\/","title":{"rendered":"Struggles Bring Strength"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week I lifted a few weights at the gym.\u00a0\u00a0It reminded me why I had not been lifting weights; my arms get sore!\u00a0\u00a0I hate the ache that follows.\u00a0\u00a0I confess that I am by nature a couch-potato.\u00a0\u00a0Most likely my last breath in this life will be taken while on a couch somewhere.\u00a0\u00a0So, as I was lifting a few weights, I kept reminding myself that there is no strength without struggle.<\/p>\n

As it has been said, \u201cWhere there is no struggle, there is no strength.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Strength does not come from what you can do; it comes from doing what you can\u2019t do.\u00a0\u00a0I believe this is true for all of life; including the struggle of living well in spite of having a mood disorder.<\/p>\n

Even the beautiful butterfly must struggle to leave its cocoon; if it does not, its wings will not be strong enough to fly.<\/p>\n

You and I both know that there are struggles with managing this \u201cthing\u201d they call mental illness.\u00a0And there are days when you and I might feel that the struggle is not bringing strength but weakness.\u00a0\u00a0But I believe, without even knowing you personally, that you are becoming stronger day by day in the pursuit of living a full and rich life in spite of the struggle.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, I believe that those of us who have a mental health challenge in our lives are some of the strongest people around.\u00a0\u00a0Yes, that includes you!<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be honest. Anyone can lift weights for an hour a day, but to manage the other 23 hours with a brain that does not always cooperate\u2026that\u2019s a struggle that brings real strength.\u00a0\u00a0As strange as it may sound, I am thankful for my struggles with bipolar disorder. I have had and at times continue to have struggles overcoming daily a brain that does not always work right, even with the medicine.\u00a0The struggles have brought me to a point of strength emotionally and spiritually.\u00a0\u00a0It has developed my character and my sense of humor.\u00a0\u00a0My struggles have introduced me to who I am and who I am becoming.<\/p>\n

Maybe you didn\u2019t know it, but you are a strong mental health hero! \u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Check out Brad’s weekly podcast, Fresh Hope for Mental Health at www.FreshHope4MentalHealth.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week I lifted a few weights at the gym.\u00a0\u00a0It reminded me why I had not been lifting weights; my arms get sore!\u00a0\u00a0I hate the…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":2393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hope-and-encouragement"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFresh Hope for Mental Health - 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