Bridget A. Thomas
Every day is a gift!
Stepping Stones
Last a Saturday, David at davidsdailydose.org wrote about Anxiety + Resiliency = Anxiliency! Yes, David’s new word will grab your attention. And I told David that I had to say it slowly at first. But with practice, it falls off the tongue smoothly. 😅
In his post, David talked about Romans 5:3-4:
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
About six weeks ago I had to give a five minute speech for my department. I was asked to talk about something interesting pertaining to my job. I titled my speech “Stepping Stones.” I talked about the last 20 years of my career and how each phase of my job was like stepping stones.
Sometimes my job can be overwhelming. I enjoy my job and my work. But I get many things on my plate that I don’t feel adequate to handle. I create reports and dashboards for my customers, in order to provide them with needed data. But sometimes theses things can be really complex. When I am stuck on something, it’s frustrating. And I have had to pray for God’s help and wisdom often.
(My parents think I’m smart. Well the secret is out. I rely on heavenly help. 😅)
In the moment, the things on my plate can be painful. But standing here and looking back, I can see how each painful task had helped me get to where I am today. Task by task, I learned more and more. I wouldn’t be able to do the things I do now if they had been thrown at me in the beginning. But with experience under my belt, I can take on these complex projects.
In my job I can look back and see how suffering led to perseverance. How perseverance led to character. And how character led to hope.
But life is like that too. We face many things that make us uncomfortable or frustrated. Yet each time we press through, we learn and grow. Down the road, when something bigger comes our way, it is easier to tackle. And then we can look back at our past difficulties and see how God used them to strengthen us and mold us.
Take some time today to look back on your own life. Can you see difficulties from the past that you can be thankful for now? Did they help strengthen you or help bring you to a better place?
Praise God for His amazing ways. We would never choose to go through something difficult. But God’s ways are not our ways. We can thank Him and trust Him, no matter what we face.
Thank you for reading! Have a fabulous weekend!
© 2018-2023 Bridget A. Thomas
Bridget A. Thomas 
Treating obstacles as stepping stones- I quite like that approach Bridget. Easier said than done for me, because when I am facing the obstacle I am sure that thinking this is helpful in some way is not going to be my foremost thought. But yes, hindsight is always 20/20. And most of the time we see the benefit of going through something only later.
So true that through each experience we learn and grow and get better at handling obstacles. And like you my friend, I too rely on heavenly help.
Blessings 💙💐🤗
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I agree – easier said than done. In the moment thinking about how an obstacle can be helpful is the last thing on my mind. However, I am trying to remember to say, “Thy will be done.” But I fail often. So I am preaching to myself here too.
Glad to hear I am not the only one who relies on heavenly help! But it is the best kind of help. God is always there for us! So thankful for that!
Blessings to you too, my friend! 🦋🤗🤍
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Looking back at my life, I can see how obstacles then turned into wisdom and knowledge now. God doesn’t seem to waste anything in my life. He uses it all for good, someway, somehow. And like you, I find myself relying on the Lord during the work day to tackle what seems like monumental challenges at the time. I appreciate your transparency and vulnerability, Bridget. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.
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Hello, brother. Seeing your comment reminded me that your the first person I heard say “The way to get better at difficult conversations is to have more of them.” (I mentioned this in my comment below—to Bridget). Gotta get my source credit down.😇
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You have a great memory! Thanks, David. Good to hear from you. I hope your Summer is off to an excellent start.
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Your comment brings to mind Romans 8:28. God uses all things together for good. It’s amazing how He can use even the worst things. But that is the God we serve. He is awesome and trustworthy. And I love hearing that you rely on Lord during your work day too. He always has our backs. Thank you, Rainer, for sharing your thoughts as well! 😊
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I started to say yours is a great follow up to my post, Bridget. But mine is more like a prequel.☺️
“Yet each time we press through, we learn and grow.” Amen! In my job, dealing with people is a major component; and these folks (kid or adult) cross my path in different states of mind. I’m quickly discovering the best way to learn to have more difficult conversations is to have more difficult conversations. In other words, like you said, don’t run from what stretches you—embrace it. Well, kinda sorta, the best we can.
I remembered this scripture this week:
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:2-3
Great post, sister! And thanks for the mention and link back! Blessings.
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You said it so well: “don’t run from what stretches you—embrace it.” It can be difficult in the moment, but it sure is less stressful than kicking and screaming. 😂 The verses you shared in James are a great reminder as well. I have had a rough week at work this week and I need to keep all this in mind myself. God is continually reminding me to “trust” Him. Thank you, David, for sharing your thoughts. It’s always wonderful to hear your insight. Blessings to you as well!
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Your 5 minute speech sounds like it was inspiring! Every phase of life, especially the difficult ones, can teach us a lot. We don’t always like the discomfort but it usually helps us to grow. Thanks for sharing. Your job sounds interesting! 🤗
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Thank you, Dawn! You’re right. There is always a lesson to be learned. And God is constantly molding us to be more like Jesus. That is something to be thankful for. I hope you have a peaceful and blessed weekend, friend! 💜
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I love this!! So well said Bridget. I relate in similar ways with my own job. This is applicable to life and normal (and sometimes abnormal) life experiences that are part of our trials from God. What an encouragement to persevere. Thank you for sharing! ❤️
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I’m so glad this was encouraging. I needed this reminder too. Sometimes half the battle is remembering. As Ann Voskamp says, we have soul amnesia. But once we remind ourselves, it’s easier to push forward. Thank you so much for reading and sharing your thoughts. By the way, I haven’t seen your May book list yet. Did you decide to stop doing that? No pressure either way. Just curious. 😊 Have a blessed rest of the week. ♥️
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Yes, we definitely tend to forget and need to remind ourselves!
Girl… been having blog issues. I transferred my domain from self hosted to WordPress this past week and that solved my blog issues, but I lost all my followers – I just realized today! I have the same domain though and everything. I was able to publish that post I’d been working on a short while ago. What a TRIAL. 😭 I’m going to ask support about it. They’re amazing at WordPress about answering so maybe they’ll tell me why it did that.
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Oh no! I’m so sorry! I hope they can help figure it out. Maybe they will even have a way to import them for you? That would be amazing. But I agree, anytime I have had to ask WordPress for help, they have been super helpful…. And I poke around to see if I can tell if I’m still a follower. Have fun on your trip 🙏🤍🙌
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