Surrender, But Don’t Give Up [Union Springs Herald]

By: Nathan Dickson, Attorney

[Link to Union Springs Herald article]

When my dad got really sick, someone gave him and my mom a refrigerator magnet with this Winston Churchill quote on it: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” I’ve thought about that quote many times since then in my own struggles and in helping others deal with theirs. The one choice we always have, no matter how bleak the situation, is the choice to refuse to give up fighting the fight and living our lives.

But we’ve also got another choice we sometimes forget about, and that is the choice to surrender. In war terms, surrender and giving up are the same, but that’s not so in daily living. Surrendering means accepting the situation for what it is and trying to find peace with whatever the outcome may be. There is a great deal of trust in the goodness of God and life in surrendering.

Surrendering is the process of coming to believe that, no matter what happens, life is going to go on and things will somehow be OK. When you surrender, disappointment, heartache, grief, pain and struggle may not get any easier, but they won’t break you either, because you know that soon enough there will be peace, and, somehow, it will be OK.

“Surrender, but don’t ever give up.” It sounds strange when you say it, but it’s a recipe for getting through hard times in life and finding joy and meaning in the midst of them.