Guest Post: Cruz On Learning From Hard Times

The quote, “That which doesn’t slay me, strengthens me,” is a very interesting and often controversial one. I believe this quote is true, but not for absolutely everyone. Let’s talk about that.

First, let’s break down the quote

“That which doesn’t slay me, ” is obviously referring to hard times, but not completely near death experiences. “Strengthens me,” means that we can emerge from those hard times, learn from our mistakes, and ultimately make better choices in the future.

Hard times are just that: hard

Now, this quote doesn’t apply to everyone. Hard times are just that: hard. Some people can’t handle the pressure of making wrong choices and so fall into despair, or anxiety. But hard times don’t just mean you’re making bad decisions. If you lose a loved one, for example, you may not learn how to make better choices in that scenario. You may just grieve for the person, and that may not seem to strengthen you.

Learning the hard way

So let’s look at the side of things where people do emerge a better person. Some people (or a lot of people) do learn from their mistakes, or become better people through hard times. Recently, I just got deeply cut and had to get stitches, because I was goofing off when there was a knife present. What did I learn from this? What our parents always tell us, “Don’t play with knives!” However, technically I wasn’t the one with the knife. I learned a lesson the hard way, and now I know better.

In conclusion, the quote, “What doesn’t slay me, strengthens me,” can be true in some scenarios, but in others it’s the opposite. Learning from your mistakes is a good thing, but sometimes hard times don’t arise from your bad decisions. Overall, my opinion on this quote is, “Yes, it’s true, but not for every hard time.”

notes:

Cruz Ingle is our 2nd born, currently 14 years old. He is passionate about life, family, Roblox, good movies, ice cream, and perhaps most of all Legos 🙂

He is a brilliant thinker, with a down-to-earth, practical wisdom. Sometimes he can summarize a conversation and draw a conclusion in a single sentence, when the rest of the family has been going around about it for a few minutes. We’re often baffled by his perspective. He’s an avid reader of literature . . . and people.

He’s a devoted Christ follower. He loves the Word. Cruz is a good friend. He loves God’s creation and animals of all sorts. He’s a cameraman and kid’s worker at church. He is profoundly gifted with children, who instinctively flock to him.

Today is Cruz’s 2nd-Birth-Birthday, a day we celebrate for each of our children. It’s the day they committed to follow our Lord.

I asked him to snap a picture of Tyler Price and I. You can actually see our reflection in his glasses. Instead, he decided that the Ingle Brothers were more important at the moment.