Remembering Perseverance
It's hard to believe 2016 is just a few hours away. Happy New Year to you and your family! My email inbox is filled with calls to set New Year's resolutions. And it's filled with sales pitches about how if you sign up this year with this person you will achieve your dreams. I'm sure some of these programs work; many of them are put out by very reputable sources.Yet, the most powerful force for propelling us towards our goals is something we must cultivate within: perseverance.When I was in third grade, I had to write a report on Amelia Earhart's perseverance. The project was to show off a character trait in a famous historical figure. The image of that brave pilot disappearing into the mist was captivating for me as a child. I remember writing and rewriting the paper by hand, in pencil for the first draft, and then in ink so it would be up to the high standards my father set. But I don't think writing the report taught me the true power of perseverance.I learned perseverance from my children. First from my daughter, then again watching my son.My first mistake was thinking (or being taught) that perseverance was a learned skill. It's not. It's a forgotten skill, a buried skill. It's a skill our environment sometimes pounds out of us.As I watched my baby girl pull her head up again and again and again in an effort to sit up, I witnessed perseverance. As I watched her reach and reach and reach till she grabbed something or watched her turn her pacifier over and over in her hand trying to get the right end in her mouth, I wondered when did we lose this built-in perseverance.Again, with baby number two, I watch my two-year-old son and I in a careful dance with the chocolate chips. As I place them further and further out of reach, he discovers new ways to climb higher and higher. First finding a stool to reach the counter. Then finding a chair to climb up on the counter. Nothing stands between him and chocolate--no matter how hard he has to work or how long it takes.When we learn to talk, when we learn to walk, falling and getting up are not only natural, but instinctual. When do we let go of this urgency, this persistence? When do they have to start teaching us sayings to remember to persevere? Practice makes perfect. If at first you don't succeed... no one has to tell a baby that.My goal for this year is to remember what I had down pat in my infancy... the art of perseverance. Without complaint. Without being disheartened. Without asking why or whining about how hard it is. Just taking it easy, step by step, with a positive attitude. Any other goal will just have to come along for the ride.(Among the spiritual goals I'm finally achieving? Reading the whole entire Bible. Hint: Don't start with Genesis again.)This is a remix of my post Try Try Again (get it? get it?)
Your Turn
What are your New Year's resolutions? In what areas of your life do you need to cultivate perseverance? Leave a comment below or drop me a line.
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