by Gabby Morocco, 2019 Student Government Association President, Convocation Speech
Gabby could never have known the research that is filling the binders in my office and the book notes folder on my computer when she wrote her speech. However, God used her to speak words that are so relevant for emerging adults and the challenges they will face across their life span. Thank you, Gabby, for allowing me to publish your relevant speech here!
“As I was thinking of what I should talk about as we begin the new academic year, I wanted to give you a piece of advice. Which thanks to my good friend, Fran Thomas, this piece of advice is preached to me ALL the time.
We can do hard things.
Repeat after me: we can do hard things. Now turn to your neighbor and tell them: you can do hard things. GOOD. Okay now you’re probably wondering –Gabby what are these hard things? And how or why am I capable of doing of it?
First let me tell you- every single person’s hard thing is different. Your hard thing is NOT going to be your neighbor’s hard thing. It is not going to be your best friend’s hard thing or anyone else’s. It is yours.
It does not have to be some revolutionary, monumental thing.
- For new students, it may be talking to a professor for the first time because that can be scary.
- For seniors, it may be trying not to cry every single day because we’re about to graduate.
- For Dr. Dub, it might be trying to figure out which bowtie to wear.
It may be a personal hard thing- like wanting to run a marathon a month or go to church every Sunday. Whatever it is- it is yours. Only you can define your hard thing. You don’t need to compare it to anyone else’s –it’s yours!
Giving glory to God is our ultimate reason and purpose for doing hard things. It may not seem like it all the time, but when we complete something hard, or grow in our relationship with the Lord—people see that.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16
Doing your hard thing is a testimony to a watching world. You are showing the light of Jesus to the people around you when you persevere, accomplish and grow. You are giving glory to God through what you’ve done.
The only way you can do your hard thing is through Jesus. He is so faithful and so full of promise—that the only way we can get through it is through Him. Rely on Jesus.
For me personally, I’m a three on the enneagram—so I am naturally wired to be driven, task-oriented and to just keep going. Sometimes my flesh can do it– it can go endure it all and get the job done. But was I really relying on God and glorifying him?
What we’re looking is the hard thing that requires a supernatural experience.
Because it’s not going to get done through me, but through Him. We have to be aware that the Lord is giving us that strength and perseverance, and that we can do hard things BECAUSE of that!!
Okay one last thing – find a promise to connect to your hard thing.
Mine is Isaiah 40:30-31
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Y’all– THIS IS A PROMISE. When I am weary, I know that he is the only one to give me strength. When my flesh wants to quit, which it wants to A LOT, we have to rely on Jesus, because one day we are going to be renewed in our strength!! We are going to run and not be weary.. And walk without fainting. Such a good promise !!!!
You can do a lot of great things on your own—but you can’t do hard things without Jesus. Hard things require the holy spirit.
Rely on Jesus through hard times and hard seasons but also don’t forget to rely on your people. Surround yourself with others who lift you up and help you. Don’t be afraid to tell someone your hard things and ask them to help you accomplish it. That’s accountability and that will bring God all the glory!We can do hard things. Not everybody’s hard thing is the same. But everybody can get through it the same way- and that’s through Jesus Christ!“
Flourishing @ Life 
I love how Gabby makes this speech relevant for everyone by saying that everyone’s struggles are different because we all live different lives. She also, knows that not everyone is as driven as she is and that will impact people’s hard things as well. Each person does have their own hard thing, the question is weather or not we will allow ourselves to persevere with God’s help or try to do it all on our own. The greatest part of the speech is that God has promised to help us with are hard things. Therefore, we can have faith in him to help us in our time of need and depend on him to follow through.
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I personally love this, and it hits closer to home. On Mondays, Mrs. Fran has meetings with our team. She has taught me so much in such a short period of time. The main thing I have taken away from Mrs. Fran, and like Gabby said, “You Can Do Hard Things.” This is really great, because like Gabby and Fran says is that everybody’s hard thing is going to be different. That statement could not be more true, and it is awesome because God made us that way. As college students, it is so hard just doing the normal things such as going to class and doing good in academics. For me, being a student athlete is even more harder. There are many things I have to worry about with my academics, and even more things to worry about if you play for Coach Campbell. It can be very stressful and more like overwhelming at times, but Mrs. Fran has taught us that in the mist of all the chaos we need to have time for God and persevere with his help.
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I personally love this, and it hits closer to home. On Mondays, Mrs. Fran has meetings with our team. She has taught me so much in such a short period of time. The main thing I have taken away from Mrs. Fran, and like Gabby said, “You Can Do Hard Things.” This is really great, because like Gabby and Fran say is that everybody’s hard thing is going to be different. That statement could not be more true, and it is awesome because God made us that way. As college students, it is so hard just doing the normal things such as going to class and doing good in academics. For me, being a student athlete is even harder. There are many things I have to worry about with my academics, and even more things to worry about if you play for Coach Campbell. It can be very stressful and more like overwhelming at times, but Mrs. Fran has taught us that in the mist of all the chaos we need to have time for God and persevere with his help.
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I can really relate to this post because and how Gabby explained everything. I go to church huddles on Sunday and my huddle leader being Fran Thomas one of her big things she loves to say is this exact thing. You can do hard things. She is exactly right. Even though life may get in the way sometimes or we may have to take a different route of life than somebody else does not mean they are any better. Just because someone is at a different point in their life than you are does not mean you shouldn’t be happy for them. Life has lots of hard things going on in its daily but that is why I believe that we must talk, walk, and listen to the Lord daily because ultimately, he is the only one who is going to get us through something in our lives. We also can’t be afraid to do hard things because we think we are going to fail at them. I really enjoyed this article because it is something that everyone should think about and consider.
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We can do hard things. I liked that Gabby took the time to point out that our “hard things” are different. Sometimes we can get so caught up in ourselves and our situation that we forget other people are going through things too. It’s the hard things that mold our character and shape us into the people we are today. I loved that she used Matthew 5:16 because it’s easy to want to take all the credit when things go good and blame God when things get difficult. However I learned that he uses those hard things and difficult times to highlight his faithfulness. If we turn our back every time things go south we’ll miss His goodness.
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I loved listening to Gabby give this speech at the begininng of the year. At the time I had no idea what my hard thing was I soon learned. I have gone through some major health issues this academic year, and that is my hard thing. Some may have it harder than me and some may think what I’m going through isn’t hard at all. I like that Gabby exagerates you own your hard thing ans it isn’s anyone else’s. Experiencing my hard thing has strengthened my relationship with the Lord so much.
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I absolutely loved reading this. It is so easy to get caught up in the fact that not everyone’s hard thing will be the same. This past year has definitely been a challenge for me, but I know through all the struggle, we can do hard things. God is walking with us through our lives the whole time, and we are never alone in our struggles.
Although it is really difficult to not compare yourself to others, we have to understand that God made us all uniquely, and His plan for each of our lives is different. Like Gabby said, whether it is something as small as Dr. Dub deciding on which bowtie to wear, everyone experiences their hard things differently. “Giving glory to God is our ultimate reason and purpose for doing hard things”. He gives us the strength to overcome these hard things, no matter how big or small they may seem!
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I loved hearing this speech at the beginning of the school year! This message will always be needed because what is life without hard things?? I agree with you that this message is important for emerging adulthood because growing up and doing adult things can be overwhelming, but God is faithful and his gives us strength to do hard things. It is easy to get caught up in your own thoughts and start to feel discouraged, so I find comfort in the saying “God does not give us anything we cannot handle” because helps me regain the willpower I need to keep going.
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