I never liked fighting. From an early age it always made me uncomfortable. One incident occurred on the school bus. We lived less than a mile from the school, so it felt unnecessarily scary. I remember fighting with a girl at church. Oh my. The 4 K’s (my twin and two other inseparables that grew together in the same neighborhood) were picked on by a neighbor boy-much older than us. It took an adequate altercation for it to cease. I didn’t want to fight.

“Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.”-1 Timothy 6:12

The walk to the older part of the elementary building was so exciting. I couldn’t wait to sit on the carpet of our old Kindergarten room and watch a film on African animals. It involved poaching-and people. There were tears in my eyes. I was ready to board a plane or a boat, head to Africa, and save the animals and the people. Would I even meet Jane Goodall?

Fight the good fight.

Being a peacemaker was my goal. Seeing all sides and angles to any situation was not only interesting, but it also became a daily objective. The underdogs, victims of bullying, the lonely or the unloved-they all gripped my heart. I learned under the steeple that we were to love one another. I wasn’t so Pollyannaish (although I was, and still am at times, seen as that) that I was blind to the problems of the world. Couldn’t we all just get along?

Fight the good fight.

I wasn’t so naïve that I believed everyone should believe or act the same, I just prayed we might. My beliefs blew up in blustery blunders. None of what I had believed seemed to be true in real life. The fight was on. As Merle Haggard sang I was “walkin’ on the fightin’ side of me.” I wasn’t fighting to be right, but to feel worthy.

Fight the good fight.

The bends in my life’s river have included fights to stay afloat-mentally and physically. To climb back in the boat after tipping, and at times, a spiritual fight to keep seeking that which IS worth a fight. “Was I even worth fighting for?” A heavenly boisterous and booming voice said “Yes! I needed you alone so you would be all mine for a while.”

 Arguments and disagreements will inevitably occur. Dialogue, if we’re determined, might diffuse.

Fight the good fight.

Today as we honor our servicemembers who have sacrificed for our country I ask, “what is worth the fight?” Our country is constantly fighting with one another. We’re split. We’re divided. We fight for “things” that we think make our lives easier and more convenient as other parts of our world fight just to have the necessities of life.

Haven’t we all fought long and hard enough?–the fight to love yourself, to let go and allow the freedom of where you are, right at this very moment, to be enough. Stop fighting for stuff. Start fighting FOR one another. I’ll not stop fighting with faith to overcome health challenges. I’ll not stop fighting with faith for a brighter future, I’ll not stop fighting with faith in acknowledging love-I’m loved, you’re loved-whether you hear it each day. When you feel alone, confused, misunderstood—when you feel joy, happiness, and contentment-no matter how you feel or what you believe may you endure with faith and fanatical fortitude.

Fight the good fight.

Have faith 🤍