A Hard Pill to Swallow
Calcium can be a hard pill to swallow. A relative and a good friend found the task almost impossible. The relative now takes calcium in a different form. My friend required surgery when a pill became stuck.
A hard pill to swallow means an unpleasant reality.
We don’t like it, but we can’t avoid it. It is what it is. Although hard to deal with, we have no choice.
We often face circumstances that are a hard pill to swallow.
- Loss of a job or failure to get a job
- A relationship breakup
- Financial ruin
- A life-threatening diagnosis
Sometimes all we can do is accept reality and move on.
Although we can’t have what we want, we keep going. Often, our disappointment is a blessing in disguise. We discover greater options, such as:
- Employment with better benefits
- Strength within ourselves and stronger bonds with others
- Recognition that inner peace outweighs financial gain
- A new appreciation for life and good health
Find the opportunity in every hard pill to swallow.
Life is not always easy, but it can still be good. Become a tough cookie ready to tackle whatever hardship occurs.
“In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:2 NIV).
Thanks to Karen Atwood and Beckham Wilson for the suggestion.
Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.
Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”
If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.
6 thoughts on “A Hard Pill to Swallow”
Thank you, Diana, for your terrific analogy! You’ve reminded me of that song from the old Mary Poppins movie with Julie Andrews. She sang, “Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.” A spoonful of gratitude surely makes the hard pills of difficulty easier to swallow! (Lord, help me remember!)
I love that, Nancy! Thank you for the wonderful connection.
Lord, help me remember too.
Romans 5 teaches us that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. Those hard pills start off that chain of growth if we do not become bitter and we seek the Lord’s guidance. ( No one wants a bitter pill!)
Maribeth, that chapter offers such reassurance when we encounter difficult times. Thank you for the great reminder. Blessings on your day.
“Life is not always easy, but it can still be good.” Amen, Diana! And reading
2 Corinthians 8:2 was a pure nugget of gold!
Thank you, Joanne. Experiences, both good and bad, can be used for God’s greater good. Doesn’t that verse challenge us?