Read: 2 Timothy 4:7-8, Hebrews 11-12:1-3
Many, if not all of us, are familiar with Aesop’s famous fable, “The Tortoise & The Hare.” In it, the hare boasts of his ability to run circles around the tortoise which ultimately leads to a race between them. Fully confident in his ability to win, the hare stops for a nap along the way. While he sleeps, the tortoise continues to plod slowly but persistently towards the finish line, resulting in a victory. The hare is humbled. Basking in his win, the tortoise declares, “Slow and steady wins the race.”
I can’t tell you how many times in the course of my leadership journey and parenting journey, this story has come to mind. Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “With perseverance, the snail reached the ark.” With perseverance, we will too.
Perseverance is defined in the Cambridge Dictionary as, “continued effort and determination.” It is a necessary quality in life, in leadership, and in parenting. Why? Because there will be days you want to quit. Days that stretch you, test you, challenge you, and exhaust you. On those days, we must, like Peter encourages us in 2 Peter 1:5-6, add to our faith perseverance. We must refuse to give up.
Being a mother is one of the hardest things I have ever done. It is also one of the most rewarding. I have never felt so full and so empty at the same time. I feel like a science experiment most days – a lab rat being deprived of sleep for decades to see what the effects might be on the brain. I have never known exhaustion like this. I have also never known this kind of joy. My motherhood journey has been both broken and beautiful. There are days I never want to forget and days I wonder if I can keep going.
On those days – those “giving up sounds good” days – I have always found myself returning to the faith-heroes found in Hebrews 11. Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Daniel – they stand before me as proof that I can make it. And what about Enoch? Enoch who “walked with God and then was no more (Genesis 5:24).” What of His faithfulness? His endurance? His commitment to Christ?
In chapter 5 of the book of James, believers are challenged to “establish our hearts” while we wait for the coming of Christ (verse 8). Can I encourage you, Mama, to dig into God’s Word? Plaster His promises all over your walls. Declare them even when you battling doubting them. Gather around you other “Mamas of the faith” and keep encouraging one another to keep going. Ask God for strategies to combat the “giving up sounds good days” and ask Him for wisdom on how to “establish your heart” to endure seasons of waiting. Because not only does James 5 call us to patient endurance, it also reminds us that if we will wait…. Harvest will come.
Journal:
What are some things that have the ability to derail me and make me want to give up?
What can I do when I feel this way? Are there steps I can take to refocus me and help me keep going?
Are there friendships in my life that encourage me and help me on the hard days to “establish my heart?” Are there friendships in my life that discourage me and leave me with doubts about God’s faithfulness? Who do I spend more time with?