Here’s the thing: I don’t know what IT is for you. Lose a few pounds. Survive college. Get along with your in-laws. Deal with cancer. Grieve a death. Recover – from drugs, alcohol, divorce, bitterness. Or just make it through Tuesday, perhaps.

I just know this: You can do it.

You can’t do it alone, of course. You need people who have your back. You may need professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and therapists. You may need medication – even for things like depression that some people don’t consider illness. (Don’t even get me started! The brain is an organ that relies on chemicals. When you don’t have the right ones in the right amount, your brain gets sick. Let’s call it brainitis, instead of depression, and then maybe we won’t be ashamed to go to the doctor about it.) Rant over.

You also can’t do it without God. I mean, people say they live without God all the time, and some of them seem to have successful lives. I don’t think they are showing us the corners of that house, though. Or the basement. Life without God is scary. Please don’t live that way.

What I mean when I say “you” can do it is that most of us have choices. We can skip the ice cream, or at least settle for one scoop instead of two. (She says to self) We can take classes online to prepare for a better career if we hate our job. We can move to a whole new town if we feel crushed where we live now.

We can hold onto Jesus in the darkest agony, trusting He will bring us safely through, even if that means taking us from the hospital bed to Heaven.

We can brighten up Tuesday with a song – one we sing or one we hear. Or, we can just hang in there knowing This-Too-Shall-Pass and Friday is one day closer.

Whatever IT is for you today, I pray you will persevere. I pray help will come, people will surround, and God will make a way. It has been my experience that He always does.