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January 6, 2009
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
Focus on the Goal, by Sarah Stirman
It happened again. Out running, my foot landed squarely on ...
something ... a pecan ... a rock? Whatever it was, it rolled my foot
right off, twisted my ankle, and sent me sprawling. Now I'm sporting an
oh-so-fashionable walking cast and have a few weeks to rest the foot
before I can take off running again.
Having a "poor me" moment, I started thinking, "Well, how am I supposed
to run? I guess I'll have to focus on the ground around me to keep this
from happening again ..." That would slow me down considerably, and
cause me to hate running as I would spend each run scanning the road at
my feet for obstacles or jeopardy instead of enjoying the scenery and
running toward my goal.
Well, what do successful runners do? Successful runners run smart by
not running on obviously treacherous landscape, but run with gusto
enjoying the scenery, scanning the road for obvious pitfalls and
dangers but keeping an eye on the goal, knowing that injury is an
acceptable risk: it just might happen and you deal with it when it
does. You can't run a successful race worrying about and focusing on
obstacles and injuries; you run a successful race by knowing your goal
and running toward it.
What if this race I run in life were the same way? What if I spent most
of my time enjoying the scenery and focusing on my goal of heaven
instead of trying to tiptoe my way around obstacles and worrying about
what I will do if I get hurt? I tend to hyper-focus on people that may
(or have) hurt me, situations and arguments that hold me back or
frustrate me, and obstacles and stumbling blocks that only serve to
keep my eyes off my goal.
In the same way that the road I run on is my reality, and perils along
the way will likely be a problem at some point, this world that I live
in is my reality, no matter how perfect my goal destination is.
Focusing on my goal of heaven won't keep this world from affecting me,
twisting my ankle and scraping my knees on occasion. But I can't let
the fear of that injury keep me from running this race with all I've
got, loving and living big and loud, spilling God's love and sharing my
goal of heaven along the path. I must run smart, and avoid obvious
pitfalls, but I have to accept getting hurt as acceptable risk: it will
happen at some point and God will continue to be faithful, providing
His people and His comfort in my time of recuperation.
So I'm ready.
So I'm ready. Ready to get back to road running as well as running
through life with my eyes on my goal, not on the pettiness and mess
around me. If you see me sprawled along the way, I may need help to my
feet, I may need a ride home, and I may need some encouragement and
comfort while I recuperate. But I'll invite you to run alongside me,
running this race with perseverance, fixing our eyes on Jesus, striding
together toward the goal.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of
witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin
that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race
marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV).
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Sarah is part of The Coffee Group, a varied group of women who express
their love, faith, and praise for God with ladies they love. They do
ladies' retreats and special speaking on God's work in their lives, as
well as the importance of sharing your faith story.
Check out their website:
http://www.thecoffeegroup.net
Come visit them on their blog:
http://www.espressohislove.blogspot.com
The Coffee Group is part of the Heartlight.org Network
---------
(c) 2009 Sarah Stirman <sstirman@gmail.com>
RELATED LINKS:
* Leaving the Past, Living the Kingdom
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200711/20071109_leaving.html
* Totally Present in Today with a Vision of Tomorrow
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200711/20071108_present.html
* Hey Clark Kent
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200610/20061017_clarkkent.html
* The Cleft of the Rock
http://www.sarahstirman.blogspot.com/
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200901/20090106_focusgoal.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
BREAKING FREE, by Beth Moore
Moore teaches us to identify--and remove--the spiritual barriers that
hinder our daily freedom in Christ.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?223
Find more great books, CDs and videos at the Heartlight store! With
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