newspaper column #2

I hold many job titles in the present season of my life.  A few of them include wife, mom, teacher, friend, taxi driver, laundry manager, family organizer, and I pray encourager.  This week I added another one.  I am the official “spotlighter” for our homestead.  My husband and I have been on several late night, early morning escapades around here in the dark.  Our goal is to manage or honestly eradicate our local armadillo population because they are destroying our yard.  He arms himself with a loaded gun and I rightfully arm myself with the spotlight. 

 

We shed some light on a varmint this morning way before sunrise and added another tally mark for our team.  The armadillos still seem to be winning, but we will not give up or slack off I am sure until the job is complete. My husband is in charge of this operation; therefore, there will be no quitting.  We will together attempt to finish the job, may even get t-shirts made that say “No Slacking.”  Oh, how I wish I could apply the same “No Slacking” slogan to every area of my life. 

 

It is a simply truth that we humans get comfortable, lazy, and often slack off when we get ahead in life.  I witnessed it this week on the volleyball court.  An impressive 8^th grade group of young athletes won the first match against Groesbeck with ease and then nearly lost the second one.  It seemed like they were comfortable with themselves and watched the game more than played the game for a few minutes.  A quick time out with their coach late in the second match woke them up and they came back to win.  In the work place, a completed task, a successful sale, or earned promotion often leads us to believe we can just sit back let others take the lead. At home, when a family seems to be connecting well with each other, the first thing to go from the calendar often is family time around the dinner table.  When we get too comfortable in any area of life and think we are ahead, we will suffer.  Those around us will suffer too and usually have to pick up the slack. 

 

Do not let up this week!  If it is a healthier lifestyle you have been working towards, do not slack off.  If there is an addiction that you want to be free from, do not dare quit trying.  If it is a college degree or high school diploma that you desire, do not give up. If you want to score your first touchdown or shave a second off of your mile time, do not stop running.  Maybe you want to deliver an encouraging word or an apology to a friend or family member, do not get comfortable and just expect for the person to show up on your doorstep.   Go to them!  Make it happen.  S

 

Life can seem like a race at times with so much to do.  We all get tempted at times to slack off or quit completely, but when the Lord has placed a job, task, or relationship in your path that is important, finish strong.  Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4:7 are what I want to think at the end of my race here on this earth.  “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”   With Jesus Christ in my life, that is possible.  With Him in your life, it is possible.