If you look at the website header, you will see the phrase Persevering by Faith, One Day at a Time.

How the Phrase Came to Life

The phrase is actually a combination of two phrases.

One Day at a Time is a phrase most everyone is familiar with as it is the title of a popular gospel song. I knew the song from an early age, but the actual meaning of the song resonated with me only after my accident, and only then because of my mother.

My mother was caring and loving, and she willingly sacrificed to care for her loved ones. She and I always shared a close bond, but it became stronger after I became paralyzed. She not only cared for me physically, but she provided emotional support and encouragement that made all the difference in me handling my disability.

When things happened and I questioned how we would manage and get through it, my mother’s answer was always, “One day at a time.” She gave the same answer to those who asked her how she could so lovingly and joyfully care for me and my father through our disabilities. And, most every night as she lay down, I heard her whisper, “Thank you, Lord, for one more day.”

Her example of faith in and love for God helped encourage my own. Her trust in his daily provision became a lesson to follow.

Persevering by Faith is not a common phrase, at least it was not to me when I first heard it a few years ago at a church I was attending. There I met a man who also battled health issues, and I observed an interesting thing about him. Whenever I or someone else greeted him with the standard, “How are you doing?,” he gave none of the replies we are used to hearing. Instead, he always answered the question with “Persevering by faith.”

As I thought about his answer, it intrigued me. He could have given a standard answer like, “I am doing good,” or, “I am all right.” But, one of those answers was probably far from the truth. Dealing with his health issues alone probably made him feel anything but “good” or “all right”. Yet, he could truthfully answer that by believing and trusting in God he was persisting through any difficulties he had.

This gentleman’s heartfelt honesty and courage in adversity became another lesson to follow.

What Does Persevering by Faith, One Day at a Time Means to Me?

Although these two phrases and the ideals they represent dwelled in my heart, they remained separate until around the time the dream of writing this blog formed in my heart and mind.

While learning about how to blog, I came across the concept of having a blog tagline. A tagline gives the reader an idea of what message the blogger wishes to convey to their readers in a few short words.

As the greatest meaning in my life comes from my faith in God and I love encouraging others in their faith walk, I felt led to make that my focus for what I wrote on the blog and ultimately everything I write.

So, I first thought about One Day at a Time for a tagline. But, I felt it did not fully convey what I was feeling and what I wanted to share with others.

I wanted to share how I knew that life may not always be easy, but if we hold on to our faith in God, even if it is just one day at a time, no matter what happens, he will see us through.

I thought and prayed about how to convey that message. Then one day I had a “lightbulb moment” and thought about the greeting reply of the gentleman from the church. Persevering by faith.

With the combining of the two phrases, I found I not only had a tagline for my future blog and foundation for my writings, but a banner for how to live my life.