How to Stay Positive When Life Gets Hard

I’ve always been open here on the blog and social media about my struggles. Whether it’s the daily struggle of motherhood, our miscarriages, or life in general. Despite my moments of weakness and lows, I always do my best to be positive about my circumstances.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving holiday, and keeping that spirit of thankfulness, I wanted to share what I do and how to stay positive in the middle of trials and hardships.

This past month has been a struggle. First, we started with having to put down our sweet poodle, Sugar. I got her for my 16th birthday, so she’s been with me all her life. Audrey was born a few weeks early and immediately sent to the NICU for 8 days.

We finally brought little Audrey home (which by the way, I still totally need to write her birth story, I know! It’ll come soon) and everyone except mama got sick. Jordan had a sinus infection, Jadyn and Colin had a cough, and Liam had RSV. A week later, we land back in the PICU with Audrey having RSV. So, here we are, Audrey Capri is 3 1/2 weeks old and once again incubated in the hospital.

First off, I want to say that I am not perfect, not even close. Again, I have my moments of weakness, and things ARE NOT always sunshine and roses, but there are ways to find joy and peace in the middle of the storm. I hope, like me, you can find how to stay positive when life gets hard by reading below…

“What comes out is what’s inside”- Dr. Wayne Dyer

Matthew 12:34 says out of the overflow of the heart, your mouth speaks. So, I watch what I am feeding my soul, my heart, my eyes. I spend time in God’s word, reminding me of his promises, his plans for my life, for my family. I also always have worship on, allowing my heart and my lips to praise and worship God continually. My question to you is, when you’re squeezed, what is coming out?

Watching what you feed your soul is important for a few reasons… 1. When the enemy is feeding you lies, you are quickly able to discern them and rebuke them with God’s word. 2. Life won’t always be sunshine and roses, but when you’re under pressure, what are you speaking over the situation? If you are constantly feeding your soul with negative thoughts, guess what will come out? Negative thoughts!

Feed your faith, and your fears will starve to death.

This goes hand in hand with the first one. I think it is 100% okay to allow yourself to go through the emotions, and feel all the feelings you need to feel during a trial. BUT you can’t stay angry or mad forever. The enemy is after your joy and will do anything he can for it. It will be up to YOU where you draw that line. If I allow the enemy to steal my joy, it’s all downhill from there. Choose Joy, choose to smile. The bible says the Joy of the Lord is your strength. Ps 118:14

Also, choosing joy doesn’t mean it won’t hurt, or that it’ll be easy. It means that despite the circumstances, your choosing to have a heart of gratitude. The bible says that a joyful heart is good medicine. Prov 17:22

It takes a village.

This past week with Audrey in the hospital, I cannot tell you how uplifted and encouraged I have felt by the number of people stepping up to help with bringing us meals, praying for us, and just reaching out. Our church family, specifically…it brings tears to my eyes to think about how good they have been to us! This is why it is so important to get connected and plugged in your local church. It is times like this that you can lean on others and those around you.

Allow those around you to help with the burden, and when you can, do the same for others around you. We are not meant to do life alone. The bible says to bear one another’s burden. Gal 6:2

I hope and pray that in the middle of your storm you can rest on God and allow his strength to become your strength. Lean on those around you, and meditate on God’s word to give you peace, wisdom, and joy in the middle of the storm.