This ain't nothin' but a phase

I was told once, "You can do anything for a little while that you don't have to do forever." I was thousands of miles away from home and having a blast, but simultaneously missing home. My aunt said that piece of life advice was something she often lived by, and in the seven years since I've heard it I've used it to shift my perspective when I begin wishing away one of life's more pesky phases.

I think sometimes we miss the point of life and its struggles. We are not meant to be comfortable all the time. Great things were not done by comfortable people living comfortable lives. I think sometimes we're unwilling to put up with something that's uncomfortable because we aren't willing to look past our own short-sightedness. I think we complain too much instead of hunkering down and realizing that this ain't nothin' but a phase.

If you're a parent, think about your toddler screaming NO when you tried to help her dress.
If you're a puppy parent, think about when you housetrained your new member of the family.
If you're a teacher, think about your very first year and the volume of information you didn't know because you had such a limited frame of reference.
In marriage and in friendship, think of the ebb and flow of your relationship and how it goes in seasons.
In a competitive sport, think of the string of times you just weren't at your best.

None of those uncomfortable phases last forever. Some are longer than others, but the common denominator: the yucky phase ends and you move into something better.

We're missing something valuable when we wish away a bad phase like a bad cold. When we allow ourselves to sit in the uncomfortable phases, we let them refine us like a diamond through the fire and we often come out the other side with a refreshed sense of purpose and shareable wisdom.

When life throws us a phase we don't like, we can remember that it's only temporary. We can be confident that we can get through this phase we don't like, even if it requires lots of coffee, chocolate, and/or exasperated "I CAN'T" exclamations. Just keep your head in the game and push through to the other side. Because we can do anything for a little while that we don't have to do forever.