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What “Endure to the End” Really Means

First Time: When I Failed NEET

I appeared for NEET twice. I failed both times.

My father stopped asking about my results. My mother started praying more. I stopped praying completely.

One night at 2 AM, I opened the Bible and read Matthew 24:13:

“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

I did not feel strong. I only felt tired. But I kept reading.

I used to think that enduring means being strong all the time — never crying, never doubting, and always looking fine.

I was wrong.

Enduring does not mean performing strength. It means choosing to stay, even when you feel weak.

Jesus did not carry the cross because He felt strong every moment. He stayed under the weight because of His love for us.

That night I understood something important:

Failing NEET was not the end. It was one more day where I chose to stay.

Second Time: When I Lost My Job

I have a small note on my bathroom mirror. It says:

“Life by the yard is hard. By the inch it is a cinch.”

— President Thomas S. Monson

This means that when we look at our whole life at once, it feels too heavy. But when we take it one small step at a time, it becomes possible.

I wrote this note after failing my third job interview. I was 26 years old and still living with my parents. My friends were getting jobs, and I felt left behind.

The note did not give me a job. But it stopped my panic.

President Monson taught that enduring is not one big decision. It is many small decisions:

  • Praying even when you don’t feel like it
  • Reading scriptures instead of scrolling on your phone
  • Forgiving yourself for yesterday

I did not get a job that month. Or next month. But I kept the note, and I kept trying.

That is what “by the inch” means.

Third Time: When My Mother Got Cancer

I used to read about Gethsemane as just a story. Jesus prayed, He suffered, and angels came.

Then I faced my own difficult night.

My mother was diagnosed with cancer. In the same month, I lost my job. One night at 3 AM, I sat outside the chemotherapy ward. I could not pray. I could not even cry. I just sat in silence.

That is when I understood Gethsemane better.

It was not only about strength. It was about Jesus choosing to stay, even when the pain was heavy.

He stayed for me.

He stayed for my mother.

He stays for you too — especially when you feel alone at 2 AM.

The Promise

In 2 Nephi 31:20 we read that we should press forward with “a perfect brightness of hope.”

I do not always have perfect brightness. Some days my hope feels very small.

But even a small light can grow.

My mother finished her chemotherapy six months ago. She is still healing, but she is with us. She still prays and still believes.

I also got a job. It is not the job I dreamed of, but I help students prepare for exams. I often tell them: “Take life one inch at a time.”

Enduring to the end is not about reaching a finish line.

It is about choosing to stay with the Savior, one day at a time.

He is still walking with us.

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