Since when is an “A” failing?

Here we sit almost five weeks into a new year and many of us set out with great intentions.  New goals, ambitions, and desires before us.  There is something about beginnings; an excitement, potential, hope that wells up inside.  The possibilities are endless.  Now, five weeks in, all is fading, like color from a picture in the sun too long. 

But what do we do?

The common denominator with most all New Year’s resolutions is quitting.  Whether a few days in or a few months, the excitement wears and we throw in the towel.  It is easier to give up, to set it aside and return to our old habits. 

But what if we didn’t?

In giving up, we lose sight of our vision and where we were headed.  The problem with this is we will never know how close we were to succeeding, to reaching our goal, to receiving the blessing of perseverance. 

But what if we kept going?

 One of the most defeating things is to blow a streak.  Miss one day or make one mistake, and believe all is lost and then quit.  The single setback derails the plan and undermines every positive step taken.  This provides no grace and no hope for success.  If you missed 7 questions out of 100, that would be 93%…an A by any standards.  Yet one mess up and we feel we have failed.  The math just does not add up.

What if we left room for grace?

Grace accepted to just pick up and start again.  Sometimes we need to just keep going, just keep praying, just keep doing what we set out to do.  This is perseverance; the steadfastness, and continued effort in doing something despite difficulty, failure or delay in achieving success.  Perseverance leads us where we want to go.  Perseverance requires us to do what is next.

So what if we take another step?

We just need to take the next step.  Not looking at the entire road ahead, but focusing on the very next step.  One step leads to another step which leads to another step.  Over time, we can look at all the steps taken and see progress, getting closer to our goal.  Mess ups, failures, and delays hinder our journey, but only quitting prevents us from reaching our destination. 

What if we make this small change?  We just keep taking one more step.

What could happen with perseverance?