Don't Let Go

There is a Norwegian proverb that reads: Heroism consists of hanging on one minute longer.

The story is about a young boy who had fallen through the ice while skating and was left clinging, cold and alone, to the edge of the ice with no help in sight. As he hung on in this seemingly hopeless situation he was tempted many times to simply let go since no one was going to come along to rescue him. But he held on, despite all odds. Finally, when everything seemed beyond hope, he clung on one minute longer and after that extra minute help arrived.

The story was simple and its moral was simple: This young boy lived because he had the courage and strength to hang on one minute longer. Rescue comes just after you have given up on it, so extend your courage and wait one minute longer.

St. Paul preached: You must never grow weary of doing what is right (2 Thes 3:13). And in his letter to the Galatians, Paul virtually repeats the Norwegian proverb: “Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Gal 6:9).

This sounds so simple and yet it cuts to the heart of many of our moral struggles. We give up too soon.

All of us experience tension in our lives: tension in our families, tension in our friendships, tension in our places of work, tension in our churches, tension in our communities, and tension within our conversations with other people, politics, and current events. Good-hearted people carry that tension with patience, respect, graciousness, and tolerance—for a while! Then, at a certain point when we feel stretched to our limit, we grow weary of doing what is right, feel something snap inside, and hear some inner-voice say: Enough! I’ve put up with this too long! I won’t tolerate this anymore! And we let go, unlike the little boy clinging to the ice and waiting for rescue. We let go of patience, respect, graciousness, and tolerance, either by venting our frustrations, giving a piece of our mind or simply flee the situation with an attitude of good riddance. We refuse to carry the tension any longer.

Of course, carrying tension is never easy. But, if you persevere and never grown weary of doing what is right, at your funeral, those who knew you will be blessed and grateful that you continued to believe in them even when for a time they had stopped believing in themselves.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we have to courage to hang on when tension stretches us to our limits and persevere with patience, respect, graciousness, and tolerance.