perseverance

-


Thomas Edison once said, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

On May 2nd I tried running for the first time. I looked at the "Couch to 5k" training model and set out to run in 30 second increments. I made it 30 seconds but not without a struggle. I was sweating and breathing hard. My entire body hurt. My ankle rolled with every step. Pain stabbed at my knees. I set a goal to be able to run from one telephone pole to the next -- not even 100 yards between the two.

How was I ever going to be able to run 2 miles by the July 14 triathlon? Let alone run them after swimming and biking.

Today I ran 3 miles in 30 minutes and had enough energy to run hard the last 100 yards. Oh, and I was pain free.

It would have been easy to give up 7 weeks ago when running was hard and painful. When my goal of being able to compete in a triathlon in 10 weeks seemed completely unrealistic, a distant dream. When I couldn't even imagine running for 30 minutes straight.

I've always taken the easy road.

But this time I didn't give up.

And the persistence paid off.

Now I know with hard work and determination I can do anything God puts on my heart to do.

EMBRACE PERSEVERANCE.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

names

-
Image
Yesterday my sermon was about the importance of names. Matthew 1 begins with a list of names, the genealogy of Jesus. Mark 1 begins with baptism, when our name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Luke 1 begins with an angel telling Zechariah he would have a son, to be named John. And John 1 says "In the beginning...", reminding us of Genesis when God called things into creation, named them, and gave Adam his first assignment--to name all the animals. And because we are celebrating Jesus' birthday this week, we talked about His all important name. Jesus, which means "God saves." And Immanuel, "God is with us." Not "for" us. But "with" us. Dwelling among us. Walking the earth. Filling our hearts. I also shared that Katie means "pure". A name I've always been intimidated by. A name I never thought I could live up to. But through this year of self-exploration, of embracing fears and family and lessons ...
Read more

No Purpose in Pie Town

-
Image
Life is always changing. Sometimes it feels like a long process, sometimes it happens in an instant, and other times it just sneaks right up on you. A year ago, Randy and I were in the middle of nowhere ( Pie Town, New Mexico ), 100 percent sure that it was our next move. His mom was told she only had 6 months to live , so our plan was to care for her in her final days. During our visit, I envisioned putting my office in the loft. And already anticipated being irritated by the television and phone calls and visitors below. Randy made up the plans to convert the garage into a master suite for us. We even picked out our flooring. I researched getting certified to teach at the local elementary school and Randy had scoped out the local diner where he planned to "sling hash." We were excited about the hiking and bouldering opportunities in the area and even bought special shoes. But as the months passed by, mom seemed to be as stubborn and healthy as ever. An...
Read more

shortcomings

-
Image
I am a terrible housekeeper. I never remember to dust and I haven't seen my kitchen table in months. Yes I do eat at said table. And if you want to join me you are welcome to put your plate on a book or magazine of your choice. I have zero willpower. Every 3 months for 10 days I do a "cleanse" and only eat lean meat, fruits, and vegetables. I am yet to make it to day 5 without cheating. I am very wasteful. I waste everything. Everything. I had never heard of Saint Nicholas Day until yesterday (even though Wikipedia says it is popular in Cincinnati). And it sounds really scary. Kids getting butchered (on a similar note, did you hear they are going to make a movie out of the books Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark ?). Demons kidnapping naughty children. Giving presents to unmarried women who "need" to find a husband. (Maybe it's not such a shortcoming to have neglected to put my shoes outside Thursday night.) Typically when we talk about shortcomings ...
Read more