From James Dodwell - Hammers of Hope
Good Morning,
Where does the time go? It has been a hectic, busy week and
the days have just flown. I am sure we all experience this type of schedule on
occasions. We start something and just when we are getting in a rhythm another
issue springs up. It needs our attention just as much, if not more and then something
else comes along…before you know it the day is over, the workers helping us
have vanished one by one and there we are nursing every second of the day for
more but to no avail. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better, there will be more
time, and there will be less to do so we can catch up, hopefully. Nope, doesn’t
work that way, do it?
In my life, each day starts early. I am best from early
morning until about mid-afternoon, it’s just my nature, my biological rhythm,
and I prefer it this way. My battery is at fully charged in the mornings after
a good nights rest. My mind is clear, my schedule is ready to roll out and I
get a fresh start on the new day. I anticipate there will be problems but I am
ready and willing to take on the challenges awaiting me out there, somewhere.
After my battery wanes by late afternoon, I find this is a good time for
reflection, to look back at the day and determine where I miss-managed my time,
or made a poor choice or made a good decision, it’s how I learn, grow, stretch
to get a little better tomorrow than I was today.
There are no favorites here, morning is good, late
afternoons are also good, but if I had to choose one it would be the latter,
because, as I said, this is when my growth and maturity is manifesting within
me, making me more aware, strengthening me, and forcing me to be intentional
with my “real-life circumstance” education. You know learning and absorbing the
things you can’t find in a book, such as callused hands, tired muscles, worn
out back, sore feet, and a mind reeling from all the opportunities we are
exposed to each day that we miss but we had good intentions. The secret is to
always view life’s challenges as opportunities to learn, in the now famous
words spoken by Lone Watie from the movie, The Outlaw Josie Wales; he
proclaimed “Endeavor to Persevere.”
Perseverance is essential to finish well. It’s not where you
start it is how you finish. We as leaders should aim to finish well. We need to
persevere because confidence will be rewarded; obedience will recognized;
shrinking back will be regretted; and Christ’s return will be celebrated.
What we find our life is not a sprint but a marathon. The training for each is
different. The sprinter trains in short burst of speed at fixed distances. The
first movement off the starting blocks is pushing them to full speed. They can
see the finish line end from the starting line and the entire path they will
travel, looking down the track, clear of obstacles, a path with border lines to
stay between the finish. Seeing and know this most sprinters use up all their
energy for the distance they run and many are not able to go much farther.
However, the marathoner trains for long distance; the
starting point is miles away from the finish line. They can’t see finish nor is
their path is not clearly marked. They train by running greater distances;
building endurance, teaching the mind and body to work as one, starting slow,
in the pack, pacing themselves so they will have enough at the end to finish
strong. They must pace themselves and endure to the end, enabling them to make
the invisible finish line.
Our life’s journey is similar to a marathon because it is
about faith and vision, about seeing an invisible future. As leaders we live by
vision. Our faith allows us to continue to lead the way because of our vision.
It gives us power for today and insight for the future. It gives us confidence
to remain optimistic because we are determined to make a legacy more than a
living. We remain hungry to provide a better life for our decedents. We are
gifted resolve to make up our minds to make a difference because our dreams,
not out memories consume us.
I encourage each of us to train for a marathon type life.
Build endurance, stay focused on the invisible future, remain teachable, sharing
our faith, hope, love, and joy as we get a little stronger and better each day.
We can make a difference and add value to others around us as we endeavor to
persevere. Hebrews 11:1
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