T is for Tenacity

by Pauline Reneaux

What a difference a month can make in our lives!! This past month has also shown us what a difference even an hour or a day can make as well. Last month I ended my piece with the following thoughts:

“Yes, sometimes life does give us lemons, but when we can use them to create something sweet, and not make us bitter, then I think we should share that with the world…sometimes in order to change the world around us, to help give others hope, we have to be willing to take a chance, to risk it all.”

Everyone has had to deal with one lemon or the other in the past month, but this time is also allowing so much more. What an appropriate time to talk about tenacity! When I Googled the definition this is what I found.

“The quality or fact of being very determined; determination.”
“The quality or fact of continuing to exist; persistence.”

At the beginning of each year I always claim a word, theme, and Bible verse. For 2020, the word I chose was focus…seemed fitting. I wanted my theme to be metamorphosis, because it just seemed like it was time to make some changes in my life. The Bible verse I chose has always been one of my favorites, the Jabez prayer from 1 Chronicles 4:10.

As I started laying out the puzzle pieces of this year, I saw that each one embodied determination and persistence in my own life. As I looked back at the pieces I had written so far, in my year of focus, I could also observe the metamorphosis taking place: January – “P is for Purpose”; February – “Q is for Quality Time”; March – “R is for Risk”; April – “S is for Sara Jayne”; and now May – “T is for Tenacity”.

To be a writer, one has to be determined and persistent, the very essence of tenacity. For our work to have meaning and make a difference in the world, we have to know the purpose behind what we do. And we have to reach a point that we take a leap of faith and bring our work out into the world, whether we do this through an article, blog, book or play. It’s risky. It makes us vulnerable to the world, but in the case of Sara Jayne and her story, it’s a chance to take life’s lemons, and show the world all of the different things she created with them. I am a very determined and persistent person, and Sara Jayne is even more so. COVID-19 has said to me, “Okay, Pauline, now it’s time to finish what you started!” COVID-19 has taken the puzzle pieces that I have placed so far this year, placed them on the table and said, “Show me how you are going to put these together!” The beauty behind it all, this process, my risk, and vulnerability, and transparency, I’m not just praying the Jabez prayer, but literally walking it out in my life.

Yes, 2020 has brought many unprecedented changes to our world, but I look so forward to seeing where my determination and persistence take me as I focus on my metamorphosis!!

Until next month …

Blessings, Pauline