The Brick Wall

I feel like I’ve been hitting the proverbial “brick wall” a lot lately. I redirect and try to find an alternate path to my ultimate destination only to find another brick wall standing in front of me. Again, I try. Again, I see another brick wall. I stand back and wonder how many times I should hit that wall before I give up.

Sometimes I wonder whether I’m just being stubborn. Maybe God is simply trying to get it through my thick head that I’m not supposed to go down that road. Normally, I feel guided, but not now. I am uncertain. I am frustrated. I’m seeking divine direction.

Tonight I ran across a quote from Randy Pausch, the inspiring author who achieved worldwide fame for his “The Last Lecture” speech that was delivered at Carnegie Mellon after he learned that his pancreatic cancer was terminal. It made me stop and think differently about my situation.

“The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something… because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”

While I’m not entirely certain that I’m moving in the right direction, I don’t want to be one of the “other people” either. It’s against my nature to give up when faced with a challenge so I guess I’ll keep walking until God leads me in another direction or until I find a way to scale these brick walls.