Finishing the race...
This makes me laugh a little. I am not one that finishes anything well. I struggle to stay on task with just a few things in my life. I read an article the other day on how to stay better organized in 2013. All really good tips. I have determined that it is the one doing the task that makes or breaks it. Not the task itself. For instance...one of the tasks was to do one full load of laundry each night.
One full load...completely washed, dried, and put away.
Ha ha. Hahahaha. Bahahahahahaha.
I did start the load and managed to move it from washer to dryer. That's where the problem started though. When the buzzer went off the first time, the clothes weren't finished. When the buzzer went off the second time, I was asleep.
Meaning only one thing.
I did not finish the "do one full load of laundry each night" race.
This isn't my first rodeo. There are many unfinished items on my life's to do list.
My devotion this morning was about finishing the race. Often times when I am doing something in life, I tend to focus on anything but what I doing. I may be thinking of things that happened leading up to that moment, or what might happen next. I think about what to make for dinner or when to have who where for practice. My mind races with a million things at one time. Most of you can completely understand this. The stress and pressure of everything else distracts me from doing what I'm doing efficiently, effectively, and completely. These thoughts and interruptions can make me grow weary and want to quit. It can be anything from finishing college to unloading the dishwasher.
Many times people have said to me in my journey of finishing school..."How much schooling did you have left when you decided to go back?" My response is always the same. I went to college through my Jr. year. Which means...I should have had one year left. Their response is always this...
"And you quit with one year left?"
Yes. Yes I did. Let me tell you why.
My devotional talks about a woman who challenged herself to swim the ocean from Catalina Island to the California shore. The morning of her swim, it was cold and foggy. The waters were choppy and she couldn't see much in front of her. She swam for 15 hours when her muscles began to cramp and she grew weary. When she decided she wanted to quit, her mother (who was in a boat riding along side her) encouraged her to finish. She kept trying, but eventually grew too tired to finish. She was pulled from the water only to discover she was less than a half of a mile from the shore. She almost made it, but the fog kept her from seeing the finish.
I was newly married and pregnant with my oldest son when I finished my Jr. year of college. Many things clouded my vision and I couldn't see how close I was to the finish line.
Here I am...13 years later...less than a half a mile from the shore. There were foggy times in this journey too...but, my desire to look beyond the fog was greater than it was 13 years ago.
I'm not sure what to do about the fog between here and the dryer...I'll need to look into that I suppose.
My point is this. It is important to finish the race. We are to focus on what we are doing and look towards the finish line. When we grow weary and feel as if we can't swim another stroke, we are to push ourselves a little more.
Max Lucado says this...
God may be, at this moment, lifting his hand to signal Gabriel to grab the trumpet. Angels may be assembling, saints gathering, demons trembling. Stay at it! Stay in the water! Stay in the race! Stay in the fight!
Give grace, one more time. Be generous, one more time. Teach one more class, encourage one more soul, swim one more stroke.
When we feel the need to quit on something...on someone...or when we've had enough. God says...push through. Look ahead toward the finish. It is our job to finish strong. We are to press forward toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ.
Off to finish laundry! Have a blessed day!
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