Press On

“One of the worst results of being a slave and forced to do things is that when there is no one to force you anymore you find you have almost lost the power of forcing yourself.” C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy

Izzy and I spent the morning in the garden – again. While we pulled weeds, thinned carrots, tossed those treats to obliging hens, horses, the steer and the pups the temperature warmed up considerably.

While spraying the crates of freshly picked veggies, we enjoyed splashing in the cool water. We’d planned a power walk to the river and back after we’d finished with the garden work, but after the stretching, bending and pulling in the heat the idea didn’t seem quite so grand.

We toyed with relaxing over tea and the no-bake cookies Izzy had made the day before instead of the walk. As we laid the vegetables to dry my mind began wandering back to the chapters I’d read the night before. She broke the silence saying, “You ready for your weigh in?” It was two days away.

I gave her the kind of look one prefers to the volumes I could have said, took a refreshing, deep breath, and instead of stepping into the house took the dog leashes from the hook by the door. “C’mon Pups,” I said. She said, “Let’s do this.”

Good call.

“We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,” Colossians 1:11 (NLT)

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My Choice

This moment is too rare to disturb.  Basking in warm sunshine on the balcony, the air around me now is 37°F (37°C), five degrees warmer, above freezing as it was when I first stepped outside.  I could go downstairs now, turn off the trickling water and close the cabinet doors.  I choose to stay.

Warm in a shirpa throw, breathing in the new day, I suddenly feel as though time stopped.  I do not stop; with surges of emotion my heart keeps beating, my mind races – and then slows.  With the beginning of a New Year so close, the past and the present seeming to swirl together around me is revealing, not alarming.

From some recess I think of the apostle Paul.  Fettered in prison, fully aware that his life was about to end, he wrote, “…Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.*”

Press on.

Notwithstanding New Year’s reflections, except for ascertaining exactly where we are, and determining where to go next, stop looking back, looking forward is best.  Sure, events of the last few years affected my family and me profoundly.  We took some hard hits.  And we rolled to our feet.  We press on.

Today my stories remain obscure.  Though it is doing better than I expected, my blog is still somewhat nondescript.  Yet, from the distance, friends and loved ones steadily cheer me onward, to continue writing, posting and keep going forward.

I was born to write, and I played at it for decades.  Today I actually sense my purpose deeply.  My days end in exhaustion, and yet I wake refreshed, renewed, and eager to continue.  Focused on my goal, bless Jesus, I choose to fly.

 

 

Happy New Year, all y’alls!

Carry On,

by Kansas

*Philippians 3:13,14, Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.