The Day After I Was a Rockstar….

I had a really great day at the  beginning of this week.  I had a day in which I:

• Hit my 10,000 step goal
• Stayed with in my caloric intake goal
• Knocked out two major work projects
• Stayed on track with my daily routine
• Got my email in-box to zero
• Completed one writing project
• Had a good conversation with a friend who needed some time
• Played a game of Headsup! with my crew
• Cleaned out a closet
• Finished my 2015 budget
• Put the finishing touches on an upcoming presentation

So, yeah, I was something of a rockstar that day.

Oh, I didn’t solve world peace or create a new vaccine.  But I did crawl in bed pretty darn proud of myself.  It was a great feeling.

But you know what?  The night passed, the next day came, and I had to start All. Over. Again.

Which I didn’t give much thought to until yesterday, when I saw this quote by Jeff Goins:

No matter how amazing you are today, you have to get up and put the hours in tomorrow.  And the next day.  And so on.

Yeah.  Ok.  Truth.

Hard work means showing up each and every day.  Doesn’t matter the job or the task or the responsibility.  Student, parent, employee, church member, friend.  You show up every, single day and put in the hours.

There’s nothing super-secret about this.  You know it and I know it.  And, we’re not saying that rest isn’t important.  It is.  It is, very much so.  No, what Goins is saying here is that perseverance is key.

Ok, so there doesn’t seem to be anything super spiritual about this.  But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t application to our relationship with and in God.  It is there, and it is found in so many places in Scripture:

• It’s found in the amazing chapter of Hebrews 12
• It’s in the words about prayer in Ephesians 6:18
• It’s in the midst of suffering and trials as seen in Romans 5:3-5
• And, it’s here in these words of 1 Chronicles 16:11

Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!

The only way to know God is to persevere in pursuing Him each and every day.  To do scripture work, to pray, to put the time in.  Earnestly.  Even when it is hard, or seemingly empty, or there is silence, or we are worn or angry or scared or are cynical or feel nothing.  We show up.  Every day.

Even when we don’t want to.

There is not a week that goes by that I do not entertain thoughts of giving up.  There just isn’t.  That is truth.  There was a time in my life that there wasn’t an hour that went by when I did not entertain thoughts of giving up.  I’m so thankful that that is not the case now, but that doesn’t mean there still aren’t times when I desire to crawl into bed and just stop.  Just.  Stop.  And never start again.

But I can’t.  There are things I have been called to do.  There is work to do for my employer.  There is parenting to do of my crew.  There are friends to care for, words to write, hateful exercise that must be sweated out, needs that I can meet, and a God who is real and who sees and knows and who, for some reason I will never, ever understand, delights in my coming to Him on my knees and in scripture work.

Everyday, I am called to put the hours in.  Sometimes I fail.  Many times I fail.  Sometimes I succeed.

Put your hours in as well.

Show up.