If It's Worth Suffering For, It's Worth Suffering Through

Why do we think that we'll live our dreams without a struggle?

Well, in the immortal words of some philosopher (whose name has escaped me), "I have no idea."

(Okay... I made that up.)

Seriously... I don't know. I'm trying to figure that out, to be honest. But I can certainly tell you a couple things that I've learned on my journey toward living my dreams, especially about the struggles involved.

For one thing, the things I've suffered for are the things I appreciate. Conversely, the things that have come easy I seem not to appreciate--even neglect.

Another thing I've learned is that the struggle is essential to fulfilling the dream. No struggle, no fulfillment. The struggle is the white-hot fire, anvil, & hammer that forge the metal of who God has created us to be. In the military, we put it this way: "The hotter the fire, the tougher the steel."

Here's another thing: when we catch a glimpse of the dream God has for us, the suffering we endure gets put into perspective. If we can just keep our eyes fixed on the prize God has set before us instead of the tumult surrounding us, it will not overwhelm us. In fact, we'll often be thankful for the tumult in the long run. (I didn't say we'd enjoy it, but we will appreciate it's place in our development.)

The thing about suffering, though, is that it doesn't last forever. It's actually quite short-lived. You WILL get through it. And when you get through it, you can look back on the winding path of suffering & enjoy the view.

When all is said & done, the dream & the suffering are inseperable... But a dream worth striving for is a dream worth suffering for.

And if it's worth suffering for, it's worth suffering through.

Eating Elephants & Climbing Mountains

Somewhere along the way, I got this crazy idea that everything I do has got to be done now.

And done perfectly. Like, perfectly perfect. The first time. No exceptions. And no excuses.

Is it my perfectionism? (I have wrestled with that over the years, but I don't think that's it.)

Is it some character flaw or odd personality trait? (Well, I certainly have plenty of both, but I don't think that's it, either.)

Genetic quirk? (I, uh... Have more-or-less normal parents, so... Probably not.)

Maybe I'm still trying to prove myself to my father? (Nah. Dad's always been supportive of me.)

So... What could it be?

Why do I have this insane desire to get it right the first time or not do it at all?

Why do I get paralyzed pursuing perfection?

Why can't I ever settle for "progress" & "improvement"?!

I mean, seriously: I NEVER get it right the first time! Not even close!

Or the second.

Usually not the third, either.



And then I usually quit.

Why can't I just learn to "eat an elephant" or "climb a mountain" when it comes to those projects & tasks that are clearly big than me?

You know what I mean: you don't eat an elephant all at once (now, that provokes a disturbing visual, doesn't it?!), nor can you climb a mountain all at once, either... You have to take it one bite (for the elephant, obviously) at a time & one step (for the mountain; duh) at a time.

But if you keep biting & if you keep stepping, eventually you get there.

So tomorrow, I'm going to grab a bite of elephant & head off to Mount Everest.

Wich me luck! ;)

The Waiting Game

OK. Confession time.

If you don't know me, then you probably have no idea that I'm a huge Michigan football fan. (If you DO know me, then you probably DO know that.)

The last several years have been HARD to be a fan! It started back during the last several years of Lloyd Carr's regime, when he managed to squeeze annual top-5 recruiting classes into 7-5 seasons that included at least one loss to someone who never should've even been one the field with Michigan. Hello, App State?

It got so bad that I actually went on strike the last 3 years of Lloyd's tenure, refusing to buy any UofM gear (& I'm sure UofM athletics felt the sting of my wrath).

But then Lloyd retired.

And then Rich Rodriguez was hired.

Truthfully, I was super-excited about RichRod (that was, however, before I knew justnhow bad things would get).

Truthfully, I was sad to see him fired (I feel like he got shafted from day 1).

Truthfully, I am ready to see good football in maize & blue again (like something less than 40 points scored by everybody but the Lakeside State School for Girls... Who only scored 38).

Truthfully, I wouldn't have minded Jim Harbaugh. Or maybe Brady Hoke. (But, O Lord, PLEASE not Les Miles!!)

I noticed that Urban Meyer is currently unemployed... I'm just sayin.

So there's only one major bowl game left for the 2010-2011 season: the BCS championship tomorrow night.

But all of us Michigan fans are playing another game...

The Waiting Game.

1-1-11

Have you noticed how many weight-loss commercials are on TV right now?

Seriously, I don't ever remember a post-holiday surge of focused advertising like this beforeI

It makes sense: we all just chowed on turkey, ham, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, pie, bla, bla, bla... You get the point. So it seems logical that Jenny Craig would trying to make some new friends!

But the voice within us crying, "Oh, my gosh I've gotten fat! I've gotta DO something about this" is not exactly known for its persistence over the long haul. But why do our New-Years' resolutions seem to fall so quickly (and so hard)?

And is it possible that something birthed on the New Year CAN actually survive until February ( or even longer!!)?

Time is an amazingly objective critic and a great revealer of many things... I wish that weren't so true.

One thing is certain: what God does is in NO WAY temporary! Even if it's just "for a season," it's still eternal in its scope, impact, and result.

I'm SO glad that I get to be a part of what God is doing in this season!

Here's to 2011 making an eternal impact for the Kingdom of God!