Life happens to us all. They say if you live long enough, you’ll see it all. Now, I’m not a Debbie Downer or anything, but I’ve lived long enough to see that a good head on one’s shoulders – like my grandmother used to say – goes a long way in helping you face the challenges that will come. Life can be hard: seasons can be hard, transitions can be hard, relationships can be hard, saying goodbye can be hard, waiting can be hard, juggling a busy schedule can be hard, dealing with health issues is hard and there are a hundred other hard things we can and will face if we live long enough. Man or woman, none of us are exempt. Unfortunately, hardship in life is certain. Fortunately, we grow through what we go through and in the end it’ll be alright.
In training and working with clients, I talk a lot about our ability to do hard things and I encourage myself and others in pushing limits and being ok with things that stretch you. The way I see it, in life, we will encounter goliaths. For my part, I’ve faced a few especially this year and I find it consoling to know that it’s not just me. I have friends who have had their fair share and others who are currently in hard seasons. There are also many accounts from biblical history to our modern day of those who have struggled through hard stuff and had to find their way to the other side. Now, I’m not out here celebrating another’s struggles but it’s consoling that goliaths are not handpicked for me specifically. We will all encounter them. Turns out the path of the biblical narrative of David and Goliath is more oft traveled than we think.
Today as the end of year approaches, I feel the desire to wander down the road of hard things that I’ve had to face in 2025. It’s worth noting that when I stood on the cusp of the then new year some twelve months ago, it looked and felt so different from where I am right now, and while that’s not a bad thing it is the result of a Goliath I was faced with and the ensuing hard choices that followed.
I can’t talk hard choices without talking faith. My faith in God has been the glue that has held things together when life’s been all kinds of uncertain this year. I’ve had to navigate the challenges of transitioning from one state to another, giving up my job, my apartment, my community, activities, changing churches, and parting with my friends and my favorite city and running home for the past fourteen years. In hindsight, it all happened way too quickly and I really couldn’t take it all in then. Now I know it was the grace of God that allowed me to zero-in on what was ahead of me.
These days I’m pretty nostalgic for the city that holds a chunk of my heart and so many running and CrossFit memories. I ran my first marathon in New York City and just about every race and down every street, and ran in Central Park until I knew every nook and cranny, so saying goodbye to 10+ years of running those streets is a process and I’ve given myself permission to grieve this loss. I could not have known that moving wasn’t the hardest thing I’d face this year. I talked myself into believing that I had peace about the move so it must mean I was confident, able, and excited even. Maybe I was a little of all of those things but the reality of an aging parent in my care would take a few months to sink in. One day it just stopped being like one of my weekly visits to the nursing home that I had done back in New York where the residents were always so pleased and grateful to see me. It became all too personal and real and full of icky emotions and imperfections and I realized, goodness I don’t know what I’m doing and I don’t know if I can. Thankfully, God’s grace is real and it’s enough. Its kept me through the hills and valleys and given me strength to keep on moving. Some days it’s a climb, some I’m out here running, and on others I have to settle for a walk. While I deslike settling, I hate no momentum so I’ll take the slower days gratefully.
Meanwhile, I’m learning my environment and figuring all too quickly that I’m a bit of a tadpole in a frog pond – a bit out of depth moving into my family’s home and having to learn them and they me. I’m still assimilating, still figuring out how to coexist in harmony while being dependent on others for things I’ve taken for granted in the past, things like quiet time and going for a run. Amidst all of the changes, one of the hardest has been changing churches and moving away from the community I had become a part of. I’m still finding my way around that one and slowly figuring new ways to connect. I have responsibilities now and my time is accounted for. I am learning to be ok with that while establishing boundaries for myself and others.hard things. Some of us still are, but I’m believing that when it’s all said and done we will have all defeated our respective goliaths and helped others along the way. In fact, I’m dubbing 2026 the year
I am doing hard things. Chances are so are you or so will you. The good news is that seasons don’t last but with a “good head on your shoulders” you can outlast them. I’m believing for victory, success, growth, strength, and resilience for you and me. May 2026 be the year of facing up to our goliaths with courage, faith, and determination. We can do hard things!
runningwithfaith 