On Friday night, at 8:30pm to be exact, a very motivated local landscaping supply business owner dropped off a pallet of sod in my driveway. Several beds around our house sat empty since we removed over a dozen shrubs at the end of March. With this delivery, we were ready to end this project.
With any big project, it’s easy to get worn out. Running a marathon requires more than just energy and stamina. When you get to mile 20, 23, or 24, you need something much deeper to push you to the finish line. You require the internal motivation to keep going, and the diligence to finish what you started.
The spiritual life is the biggest project any of us ever undertake. Enduring a lifetime of trial, triumph, defeat, and temptation requires that we, as St. Paul said, run the race. We have to put in the effort, do the work, and not let despair set in.
Quitting half-way through, or taking a break, is like leaving those empty beds of dirt. We did the hard work in March to clear out the beds, dig out the shrubs, and clear them to dirt. By the time the sod man was hired and made his delivery, the weeds had grown up again, so we had to clean the bed out for a second time.
Why keep fighting battles that have already been won? Focus, fight, win, and never give up an inch of ground.
