On your mark, get set, go!

Sound familiar?  It has been a long time since i was in an actual physical race, other than the race of trying to catch my bootie at the end of the day, lol!  However my kids keep me in the zone of all things sports.  This week, I was sitting at a track meet with Carter (my youngest son) and true to form, Jesus showed up.  By the way, he had plenty of time to talk to me…someone should have told me that Cross Country meets are LONG!?*@!

He is the first one of my kids to ever run Cross Country, so I am a little new to it.  Field hockey, football, basketball, and golf are all very familiar.  This year Carter chose to participate in track for one reason only.  He wanted to be able to stay in good condition in between Basketball and Football seasons.

He was invited to his first invitational where he participated in High Jump.  Who knew?  He did so well.  When I asked his Coach about it, he stated that he entered him into that particular event because He had been working very hard to improve his Vertical for Basketball.  But this is Cross Country…and then boom.  (Insert Lighting bolt, fist pump emoji.)

How many times in life have you found yourself participating in the High Jump when you really want to be going in for a Slam Dunk?  Have you ever made the connection?  If you are like me, its often times not until after the dunk is made that I can look back and say, I NEVER would have made that goal if I hadn’t embraced the conditioning.  Let’s be honest, conditioning SUCKS!  We all want to play in the game, but NO one in their right mind signs up for conditioning.

Unbecoming requires conditioning.

It’s completely impossible without it.  Show up, put in the work, push your own limits.  Why?  Because your purpose demands it.  I remember cross country times in my own life.  Times where those in Spiritual Authority in my life would sign me up for the high jump, and usually when i became good at that, they would enter me to another event.  They challenged my comfort levels and pushed my limits.  In the heat of the moment, even when i arose to the occasion, i didn’t always understand their methodology.  But i trusted.

When you can’t see God’s WHOLE plan, just do what’s in front of you!

The steps of the righteous are ordered AND he delights in his way.  What would happen if we delighted in the training?  If we took pleasure in the parts that are preparing our Vertical?  I think we should try it.  I think it will make the Slam Dunk more rewarding.  Let’s show up to life and really embrace today…all of this lust for tomorrow has us missing some of the best parts.  Now, on your mark, get set, GO!!

Xoxo,

Steph

P.S. I would love to hear personal examples about your ability to see now how God was conditioning you for purpose!  Your comments are everything!