Withstand the Test of Time

As I drove home from work late one wintry afternoon, chilled from the freezing temperatures, I noticed the beautiful trees aligned on both sides of the road. Amongst the evergreens and the pine trees, one tree in particular caught my attention as it majestically stood, with its strong branches extending outward. This tree, bare from the many leaves that had once hung from its branches, daringly saluted the sky.

I thought about how this deeply rooted tree stood year after year, withstanding the test of time through the altering seasons. I thought about how this tree stood -- regardless of the many changes brought about by the sultry summers and the chilling winters.

Through all of the changes, through the bend of the limbs and the fallen leaves, there it stood -- through the test of time.

Many times in your life, you may feel as though you've taken all that you can take -- that you have stood all that you can stand.

You may feel like throwing your arms up and just giving up -- simply giving in.

My friend, you are where you are today because of your ultimate strength to withstand in the midst of failing relationships, heartbreaks, getting no breaks, of so-called friends becoming your worst enemies. You are where you are today because you withstood all of those changes and many more. You are where you are today because of the many obstacles that you have already successfully surmounted. You are where you are today because you daringly saluted the circumstances, sometimes not even realizing how.

The very strength that brought you here, will allow you to withstand your present circumstance. Don't throw in the towel. Don't give up on yourself. Don't give up on life.

Just like this majestic tree, it is imperative that you are deeply rooted in your beliefs, in God, and in yourself -- so that when life-altering events come to weaken you, or to make you bend, you will daringly withstand the test of time.

Attest today: I will no longer bend to the life-altering events that continuously come my way. I will stand strong, realizing that through my inner strength, and hope in God -- I will be like the majestic tree that withstands the test of time -- for I too -- am strong. Copyright 2003 by Audrina Jones Bunton. REPRINTING THIS ARTICLE: Permission is granted to reproduce or distribute this article only in its entirety and provided copyright is acknowledged. You can find other articles to choose from at http://www.purposefully-living.com/mail ing%20list.htm

Motivational Speaker, Audrina Jones Bunton was born the seventh of eight children in her household in Pinehurst, North Carolina into a loving and committed Christian home. As she has 2 children, over 40 nieces and nephews and great- nieces and nephews, it is not unusual to find her under the same roof with many of her maternal five-generation family on weekends and on holidays. In her youth, she fondly recalls traveling throughout the U.S. with her family, as her parents ministered from state to state year after year-helping people as they traveled.

A graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology, Audrina is a Competent Toastmaster of Toastmasters International and serves as the North Carolina District Sergeant At Arms. She is a former counselor of the Durham Pregnancy Support Services, a Christian-oriented crisis pregnancy center in Durham, North Carolina and is currently a Social Research Assistant at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Audrina is currently studying at the Master's Divinity School in Evansville, Indiana with a combined concentration in Biblical Counseling and IABC certification.

She also serves as the Youth Director at the Come As You Are Evangelistic Center in Aberdeen, North Carolina where her mother, Lydia Jones is the pastor.

Modeling after a song that her mother so often sings, and one that Martin Luther King, Jr. often quoted, her life and speeches are based on the following lyrics, "If I can help somebody as I pass along, If I can cheer somebody with a word or song, If I can show somebody he's traveling wrong, Then my living will not be in vain."

Audrina resides with her husband William, and 2 children, Audrina Lorraine and William Woodrow.

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Google News Updated : Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:55:52 GMT Same-Sex Marriage and the Rights of Citizenship - New York Times ABC News Same-Sex Marriage and the Rights of Citizenship New York Times - 1 hour ago The Connecticut Supreme Court deserves praise for acknowledging, as other states that allow same-sex marriage have not, the constitutional principles that compelled the justices to guarantee all consenting adult Americans the right to enjoy the ... Gays rush to wed ahead of election Washington Times Comment by Evan Wolfson Executive Director, Freedom to Marry National Review Online Blogs - News10.net - WCAX - Catholic Weekly all 1,913 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 14 Oct 2008 04:41:27 GMT Wildfires threaten LA homes; two people dead - Reuters CBC.ca Wildfires threaten LA homes; two people dead Reuters - 4 hours ago By Steve Gorman and Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Deadly wind-driven brush fires roared out of the foothills and canyons on the northern fringe of Los Angeles on Monday, destroying dozens of homes and threatening hundreds more dwellings. Video: LA Fire Officials Try to Get Ahead of Blazes AssociatedPress REGION: Fire alert remains in effect North County Times New York Times - BBC News - AFP - The Associated Press all 3,443 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 14 Oct 2008 01:27:17 GMT Vitamin D Supplementation Guidelines for Youngsters Doubled - Washington Post ABC News Vitamin D Supplementation Guidelines for Youngsters Doubled Washington Post - 9 hours ago By Amanda Gardner MONDAY, Oct. 13 (HealthDay News) -- The leading children's medical organization in the United States on Monday announced that it has doubled the amount of vitamin D recommended for infants, children and adolescents. Video: HealthWatch CBS Vitamin D recommendation for kids is doubled Los Angeles Times WebMD - ABC News - New York Times - KEYC all 609 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:11:02 GMT Morgan Stanley Can't Please Everyone - Forbes Wall Street Journal Morgan Stanley Can't Please Everyone Forbes - 2 hours ago Morgan Stanley and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial may have pleased investors, but they failed to reassure the ratings services. Morgan Stanley (nyse: MS - news - people ) shares surged more than 85.0% Monday after it received a $9.0 billion investment from ... Mitsubishi UFJ Gets Better Terms From Morgan Stanley (Update1) Bloomberg Fitch cuts Morgan Stanley's default ratings to 'A/F1' MarketWatch New York Times - Reuters - Washington Post - St. Louis Post-Dispatch all 1,706 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 14 Oct 2008 03:40:53 GMT Canada's Harper May Face Similar Gridlock After Today's Vote - Bloomberg Voice of America Canada's Harper May Face Similar Gridlock After Today's Vote Bloomberg - 1 hour ago By Theophilos Argitis and Alexandre Deslongchamps Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- When Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper called today's election six weeks ago, he complained that opposition calls for more spending were putting the economy at risk, ... Rivals crisscross Canada ahead of elections Los Angeles Times Global turmoil dominates Canada election Financial Times AFP - Voice of America - Crosscut - Aljazeera.net all 951 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 14 Oct 2008 04:37:49 GMT Michigan: Ruling on Voting Rights - New York Times Michigan: Ruling on Voting Rights New York Times - 1 hour ago By AP A judge has ordered state election officials to stop automatically canceling a voter’s registration if the card is returned as undeliverable. Federal judge orders 1438 names restored to Michigan voter rolls Detroit Free Press Judge Says Mich. Policy Violated Voting Law Washington Post Connecticut Post - The Standard - DetNews.com - The Associated Press all 68 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 14 Oct 2008 04:05:24 GMT Excess Drinking Shrinks the Brain - Washington Post Canada.com Excess Drinking Shrinks the Brain Washington Post - 8 hours ago By Amanda Gardner MONDAY, Oct. 13 (HealthDay News) -- The more alcohol you drink, the more your brain shrinks, a new study has found. Study: Drinking alcohol associated with smaller brain volume Xinhua Alcohol Consumption Can Shrink Your Brain WCTV Inventorspot - Telegraph.co.uk - MedPage Today - Canada.com all 51 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:09:07 GMT RSS For Web Pages More Web Site Traffic

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