The Longest Stretch
My senior year of High school I ran cross country. Saying I hated every minute of cross country would be false. I loved spending time with my friends, making new friends, and everything relational. I just hated running. I am not a runner, and especially not a long distance runner. The start and the end of the race aren't so bad. At the start you have the exhilaration of just beginning, you still have energy, and everyone is still together so it is "easy" to see your placement in relation to everyone else. At the end of the race you can see that glorious finish line; the line that, once you cross it, the pain and torture of running will finally be over. If cross country consisted only of a beginning and an end, I believe that I might actually find it quite enjoyable. But it does not. Instead it is five kilometers of long, monotonous running. In order to truly excel in long distance running, a person must learn to pace themselves, and to press through the pain and monotony of the middle. I also believe that the people who truly love running, they find to love not just the start and finish, but even the middle.
I think this is true of many things in life as well. It is exciting to start, it is easy to end, but the middle... the middle can be torturous. The longest stretch is often the hardest. Six months ago I began the task of learning German. I started by taking a four week intensive course in September. In the beginning it was easy for me to see huge results. I was basically starting from the beginning so almost everything was new. Now we have been living in Germany for a while, and I continue to learn German. I am still learning new things everyday, but everything is not necessarily as exciting as at the beginning. There is the common saying, "the honeymoon is over," and I find that to often be true. There are times in life when the good feelings fade and we rely on the commitments we have made. I made a commitment to finish the race, so I will.... That does not mean however, that we just bear through these things in life without joy. Our commitment carries us through the difficult times until we can find our way back to the joy, excitement and deep feeling of purpose.
I believe there are many things that help lead to success and victory, here are three.
Commitment: As mentioned before when I make a true commitment, then I am less likely to back out. When times get tough I am able to remind myself (or others remind me) of the commitment I made. I am held accountable by this truth. I may like the idea of "getting in shape" and exercising more, but unless I am committed to it, I know that I will eventually stop.
Training/seeing results: The more I do something the better I become. I remember when I first started playing guitar, I was absolutely terrible. I am sure my family dreaded every time I would practice because then they would have to hear those terrible noises again. But you know what happened. With time, those terrible noises became... a little less terrible. Then, with more time it became audible music, and then something that people would even enjoy listening to. I remember the first time I played with my youth praise band for a church event. People were so encouraging, and that encouraged me. When we are caught "in the middle" it can sometimes be difficult to see where we stand. It is easy to get frustrated by where we are not (that o so beautiful "end" of the race, or our other perceived goals); however when we take a moment to step back and see the small steps we have already taken, it can be immensely encouraging.
Joy: As I stated from the beginning, I am really not much of a runner. However, when I find myself running, I try to even then find joy wherever I can. I may not enjoy running, but I do very much enjoy the beauty of nature. So when I run I try to find joy in the feeling of fresh air in my lungs, or the wind against my face. I look around at the clouds in the sky, the trees, and the mountains. It is sometimes so easy to focus on the "finish line" that we fail to see the joy of where we are at in life. With my children I often focus on who my kids are becoming and fail to take in who they are today. I hope that I will always find joy and purpose in everyday. May I find joy in how my daughter Elea is learning her letters and how to write words. May I find joy in how she has now been at Kindergarten (which is preschool here in Germany) for about a year and is beginning those first steps toward more independence from mom and dad. May I find joy in how my son Fin is beginning to communicate more, and how he is beginning to play more complicated games. There is JOY to be found in the middle.
So, I look forward to what is ahead. I look forward to a time when I can speak perfect German, and can share the love of Jesus through well thought out sermons in this o so technical of languages. But for now, I continue in the middle... practicing my articles and speaking as much as I can everyday. I remind myself of my commitment, I continue to practice and see how far I have already come... and I will find Joy in every part.
I think this is true of many things in life as well. It is exciting to start, it is easy to end, but the middle... the middle can be torturous. The longest stretch is often the hardest. Six months ago I began the task of learning German. I started by taking a four week intensive course in September. In the beginning it was easy for me to see huge results. I was basically starting from the beginning so almost everything was new. Now we have been living in Germany for a while, and I continue to learn German. I am still learning new things everyday, but everything is not necessarily as exciting as at the beginning. There is the common saying, "the honeymoon is over," and I find that to often be true. There are times in life when the good feelings fade and we rely on the commitments we have made. I made a commitment to finish the race, so I will.... That does not mean however, that we just bear through these things in life without joy. Our commitment carries us through the difficult times until we can find our way back to the joy, excitement and deep feeling of purpose.
I believe there are many things that help lead to success and victory, here are three.
Commitment: As mentioned before when I make a true commitment, then I am less likely to back out. When times get tough I am able to remind myself (or others remind me) of the commitment I made. I am held accountable by this truth. I may like the idea of "getting in shape" and exercising more, but unless I am committed to it, I know that I will eventually stop.
Training/seeing results: The more I do something the better I become. I remember when I first started playing guitar, I was absolutely terrible. I am sure my family dreaded every time I would practice because then they would have to hear those terrible noises again. But you know what happened. With time, those terrible noises became... a little less terrible. Then, with more time it became audible music, and then something that people would even enjoy listening to. I remember the first time I played with my youth praise band for a church event. People were so encouraging, and that encouraged me. When we are caught "in the middle" it can sometimes be difficult to see where we stand. It is easy to get frustrated by where we are not (that o so beautiful "end" of the race, or our other perceived goals); however when we take a moment to step back and see the small steps we have already taken, it can be immensely encouraging.
Joy: As I stated from the beginning, I am really not much of a runner. However, when I find myself running, I try to even then find joy wherever I can. I may not enjoy running, but I do very much enjoy the beauty of nature. So when I run I try to find joy in the feeling of fresh air in my lungs, or the wind against my face. I look around at the clouds in the sky, the trees, and the mountains. It is sometimes so easy to focus on the "finish line" that we fail to see the joy of where we are at in life. With my children I often focus on who my kids are becoming and fail to take in who they are today. I hope that I will always find joy and purpose in everyday. May I find joy in how my daughter Elea is learning her letters and how to write words. May I find joy in how she has now been at Kindergarten (which is preschool here in Germany) for about a year and is beginning those first steps toward more independence from mom and dad. May I find joy in how my son Fin is beginning to communicate more, and how he is beginning to play more complicated games. There is JOY to be found in the middle.
So, I look forward to what is ahead. I look forward to a time when I can speak perfect German, and can share the love of Jesus through well thought out sermons in this o so technical of languages. But for now, I continue in the middle... practicing my articles and speaking as much as I can everyday. I remind myself of my commitment, I continue to practice and see how far I have already come... and I will find Joy in every part.
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