When I swim on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, the coaches write a workout on the board. After weeks of ignoring it (doing my own thing as I got back into swimming), lately I’ve been trying to follow it.
One day last week it seemed doable:
I think I can do this! So I swam hard, marking off my laps with a waterproof playing card every time I finished 50 yards. (My old brain can’t just keep track in my head.)
The coaches were talking off to the side while I ticked off more and more yards.
I can’t believe I’m going to finish a full workout this time!
And then Coach Cassie stood up and wrote the rest of the workout on the board.
And just like that my confidence was shattered.
Of course that wasn’t the whole thing. I should’ve known I couldn’t do it.
But I kept swimming. I didn’t complete the entire list, but I did swim 1800 yards within the hour I was there. That’s the most I’ve done since I started in January!
When I could see the end, I pushed toward it.
But how can we push forward when we can’t see the end?
When we don’t know how long our relationship problems will last.
When we don’t know how the struggle with cancer will turn out.
When we don’t know if we can ride out the ups and downs of depression.
We push through because we have faith. Even though we can’t see the finish line and we don’t know how things will end, we can keep going as we trust that God will get us through every single step.
I don’t know if I’ll ever win a race in swimming, but I know that if I press on in life, someday I’ll win an even better prize.
“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14 NIV)
Is it hard to press on when you can’t see the end? How can focusing on God help you keep going?
This is such a timely post. That’s where I am now … pressing on through several unresolved issues in life. I do all I can to bolster my faith and trust in God. But when I feel weak, I confide in a friend who will encourage me and pray for me. When I look back, I see how God has brought me through decades of trials and problems, so I know He will bring me through these as well. I just have to not look at my problems and get stuck. I have to keep looking up and going forward in faith.
Hi Lora,
I missed your comment until now. Sorry about that!
I hope you can keep going, even though you can’t see the end right now. It’s so easy to get stuck, isn’t it? Praying for you as you keep pressing on!
~Robyn