One phrase I have come to love— which has also proven true— overtime is one I got from a movie; “It’s going to get ugly before it gets pretty.”
In the movie, this family man, Mr. A, gave the contract of his house’s repairs to Mr. B, the contractor.
Mr. B began work on the house by completely tearing it down. And for a moment, we all thought he was clueless as to what he really needed to do on the house.
Mr. A grew so impatient and frustrated. With every day that passed, he accused Mr. B of destroying his home, rather than fixing it. In all fairness, the house looked in worse shape than when the work first began.
Yet, Mr. B, with a calm expression and a goofy smile always told him “it’s going to get ugly before it gets pretty.”
For some time, it worked, and Mr. A totally believed the phrase. But soon, he couldn’t take a second more of it, and so he fired the contractor.
A few days later, he hired a different team of contractors; and this time, these lot were actually clueless.
The long and short of the story is, Mr. A finally came to the realization that Mr. B was indeed fixing his house, and he was the best in town to handle the job.
So, he finally swallowed his pride and went back to ask Mr. B to come back working on his home. And for once, he trusted and believed the phrase, “it’s going to get ugly before it gets pretty.”
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How many times has this been you, and me too?
2018 was one of my lowest lows. A lot of things came at once and were tearing mercilessly at the walls of my house, or mind (and heart).
And each time, I kept telling myself “it’s going to get ugly before it gets pretty.” But with time, I lost it— I stopped believing and I kicked my contractor out.
Barely two people knew this, but I stopped believing God. Yeap! I felt His “it’s going to get ugly before it gets pretty” was taking too long, forever maybe.
Like I said, a lot was happening at the same time, and all too fast as well. A few weeks down the line and I realized I was an even bigger mess than before.
And so, like Mr. A, I went back to my contractor, all teary and broken. I knocked and received one of the warmest welcomes yet again.
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Back to you! If I told you it’d get ugly first, would you believe me?
When it seems like everything in you is being forcefully torn down and destroyed, I pray you have the courage to trust the process— because that is all it is, a phase.
IT’S GOING TO GET UGLY BEFORE IT GETS PRETTY!
But you are going to need a lot of patience— like a whole LOT.
I came across something once; it said the true test of patience is not how long you stay; it’s the attitude you possess and portray while you wait.
Here’s a verse to ponder on, which resonates with this post;
Ecclesiastes 7:8 “The end of something is better than its beginning. Patience is better than pride.”
When you are on the verge of letting go, be reminded that it would first get ugly; and please never stop believing that.
Sometimes, you don’t determine how long that ugly phase lasts; what you do have control over, however, is what you choose to keep on/begin believing and your attitude while at it.
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It is the same thing I have always believed over my country, Nigeria, as well. This has been a long, long ugly phase, but it would still get pretty. Soon, this phase would pass and we would #endSARS.
Sending love and light your way.
Cheers to steady growth,
Zoey.
Zoey 