Tag Archives: Endurance

When Decisions Won’t Bend the Trail

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Seven years ago, I stood under a star-studded sky in central Texas and made a decision.  With a tinge of dramatic anticipation, I looked to Heaven and prayed my own paraphrase of Jeremiah 26:14: “Lord, do with me as seems good in Your sight.” And then I offered a particularly painful area to Him.

But the outcome of that decision wasn’t quite what I had hoped.

Turning Points

I learned early on that spiritual decisions make spiritual turning points. And turning points are usually exciting. There is a surge of joy in Holy Spirit-prompted surrender, and there can be a rush of anticipation in the biblically-rooted change sure to follow.

So seven years ago, when I knew that I needed this surge of joy and longed for a fresh sense of grace, I made a decision to surrender.

What happened next was…disappointing. Continue reading →

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Won’t

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Trust my grandma to come up with a clever spin on a common phrase. (She is the same grandma who has invented words like encosegrator, grusel, and snitherwoo, and she has developed complete definitions to their various forms of speech.)

Anyway, one of my grandma’s family-famous lines is, “Where there’s a will, there’s a won’t.”

She uses it to express a humorous mode of stubbornness, changing a classic on perseverance and ingenuity to the all-too-common reality of obstinacy.

In truth, though, my grandma is right—and twisting her twist, her statement does apply to making a way. Where there is a will to do something, there must also be a won’t to do any competing thing. Continue reading →

Today…

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…marks 171 years since David Livingstone first sailed for Africa.

I recently had the opportunity to read another biography about Livingstone this summer. I was especially impressed as I learned that, in the minds of many, he didn’t have much “missionary promise” when he sailed for Africa. He wasn’t a bombastic preacher, and he didn’t have a charismatic personality. Not likely to succeed.

Much of what Livingstone did in Africa was tedious and slow-going. He preached the Gospel everywhere he went, but he was navigating unexplored territory, usually sick, often hungry, and sometimes deserted. He persevered and died without seeing the full fruit of his labor. Continue reading →

What We Learn from Veterans

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Victory—I love that word. And I love success, accomplishment, and achievement.

The only problem with experiencing these words—at least in a truly heroic endeavor—is that it takes so long to attain. We want success today. We want achievement now. We want victory without sacrifice and accomplishment without effort.

All of us would thrill to return to a hero’s welcome. But few of us are willing to fight in the trenches and to endure the grueling days of a soldier’s life. Continue reading →

A Miracle Cure for a Tired Mind

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…is sometimes, believe it or not, rest.

Yes, it’s that simple. Rest works wonders.

It rejuvenates.

It renews.

It refreshes.

It reenergizes.

Sometimes when we are edgy and depleted, when we feel that we have no more to give, all we need is rest. Perhaps we need the rest of sleep. Perhaps we need the rest of a mental diversion.

I’m beginning to see that to not rest is a form of pride. Fatigue—mental or physical—makes us edgy and overwhelmed. It reveals a mindset that thinks the world depends on us, that if we step out of the current, everything will stop.

Proper rest, however, is a form of humility. It is a way of acknowledging our finite limits and our need of God’s cycles of renewal.

How do I know? Let’s just say I recently took a day of needed rest. And it proved both points!

Short Nights=Bad Mornings

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I write this post after two virtually sleepless nights—both directly or indirectly related to a bad rash of poison ivy. (Ugh!) While concentrating on not scratching last night, I remembered a verse about long, painful nights that had been a help to me during my college days.

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm 30:5b).

I remember one morning in particular reading this verse after an especially short night of sleep.

Of course, none of us like to experience the “night of weeping” referred to in this verse—a season of heartache or pain. These night seasons always feel too long.

But as I read the verse that morning through droopy, bloodshot eyes, I realized that the alternative isn’t any better. Short nights don’t make for happy mornings! Continue reading →

Victory by Endurance

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In the context of a larger conversation, a friend happened to mention last summer that she had completed a moderate workout the evening before—running for forty-five minutes on a treadmill at 5.7 mph. Without much thought, I noted the comment and reminded myself that I really needed to be exercising.

Less than a week later, I determined to begin, and I set a goal for myself of forty-five minutes per day. I decided that I should start my new plan with moderation, and remembering my friend’s earlier statement, I decided forty-five minutes on the treadmill at 5.7 mph would be good for the first day. (She said it was moderate!) It didn’t take long for me to realize that this was a strenuous workout! I chalked it up, however, to being very out of shape and determined to persevere.

Four miles and forty-five minutes later, I staggered off the treadmill and collapsed on the floor. The next day, I could hardly walk. (If you’ve not been much of a runner, let me encourage you that this is not a good start!)

During those grueling forty-five minutes, I grasped for something to occupy my mind—anything to distract myself from my exhaustion. I thought of Hebrews 12:1, “And let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” Continue reading →