If You're Going Through Hell, Keep Going!

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Really, this cannot be happening…..

I saw these two quotes work their magic in my life this week. “If you’re going through hell, keep going,” from Winston Churchill and “When it hurts to look back, and you’re afraid to look ahead; look beside you and there are your friends.” 

I’ve had an insane couple of weeks. My son came home from summer work in Boston for my dad’s 80th birthday celebration. We had the party at my house, 85 of Dad’s friends - many of them over 80 themselves attended. It was awesome and exhausting. Dad had a blast. Then, on Wednesday before Ken heads back to Boston, I decide it’s time to lease a new car. So, we spend the day before he leaves at the dealership, negotiating the lease. Got an awesome VW Jetta. Hooray!! More on that later.

Ken takes off for Boston. While he’s on the road, he gets an email from his college saying he might not graduate next semester. What? College has not been a cakewalk, so this is a big blow. He calls me on Saturday, we talk about it, agonize over it, and he makes a plan – nothing much I can do except listen. Later that night during some lovely thunderstorms, my air conditioner goes out. 

Now, I live in Atlanta, and it’s really, really hot in Atlanta in August. Brutal. The only thing I can do is call my service people. We schedule an appointment for Monday to check it out. Monday. Yuck. It’s hot; it’s humid; no matter how many fans I have going, it’s miserable. So, I get no sleep for a couple of days. Again, nothing I can do about this, except wait and sweat. And, yes, it’s feeling kind of hellish in my house because it is hot!!

Monday morning dawns and I head out for a couple of appointments. I finish lunch and go to my car. Someone pulls in the space next to me, and I begin to back out of my space. She backs up a little to straighten the car in the space, and we hit each other. My brand new car! Passenger door is bashed in. I’m in shock. But what are you going to do? We did all the stuff you do, and made friends with each other (I love it when that happens), filed our insurance reports and I head back to my sweltering house.

Where the a/c repair people are due any minute. And, yes, you guessed it, major repairs required – including ordering a part to fix the a/c!! More delays. Less control. So what can I do but keep going? I write a little, talk to a potential client, leave the windows open, and say a prayer of thanks for a screened-in porch with a fan. Ken is making progress at school, then has a set back and still there’s nothing I can do to fix any of these things!

My particular definition of hell is being caught in several situations at once where I can’t do anything to influence the outcome. So, here I am stuck between a college, an air conditioning company, and car repairs. I know I have to keep going. I am so bummed about my car, I can’t even describe it. I’m a little fuzzy from lack of sleep, but I keep going. Because, you know, if I don’t keep moving, I’ll burn up!!

I find out Tuesday that the a/c repairs will happen on Wednesday. Of course, I have meetings scheduled on Wednesday. Luckily for me, the people I’m meeting with are friends and understand that down here, air conditioner repairs are critical events. They understand and are flexible on meeting times.

Finally (it feels like it’s been two weeks), the repair people come and repair the a/c and I head out to my meeting. As I’m sitting at a light at an intersection, someone hits my car again. Yep. Really. This time it’s on my side. I look next to me and someone’s car is smashed into in my door. I am in shock – I cannot believe this has happened – again!

I’ve only had this car 7 days and it’s been hit twice. I lose it for a minute. Then, a repeat of Monday. Exchange info, police, insurance. I text my son, a friend, and the person I’m supposed to be meeting with about what’s happened and they all respond – What? No way! And they all want to know what to do to help me. One is even ready to drive an hour to get to me if I need her!

I end up going to a friend’s house, cry a little, laugh a little, set up the repairs and realize what’s happened. I’ve been going through hell. I kept going. And, what got me through it was the friends by my side. Because I’ll be honest with you, it definitely hurt to look back and I was certainly afraid to look ahead. Instead I looked to my friends.

Think about your life. Have you ever been through a stretch of hell and just slogged through it with your friends by your side? That work friend who sees you’re swamped and asks if they can take something off your plate. Or that friend who calls out of the blue saying she’s bringing over a casserole, or taking your child to soccer, or asking you to a movie. There they are, escorting us through whatever we face. If we keep moving through the frustrations and the setbacks, we’ll get through them. And, when we’re scared of everything around us, our friends are there to anchor us.

If you’re going through hell, keep going.
When it hurts to look back and you’re afraid to look ahead; look beside you and there will be your friends.

PS: Ken returns to school for his final semester next week.

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Becky
www.BeckyBerryCoach.com