Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Press On

I had a really good workout yesterday. I dead-lifted nearly 3,000 pounds! OK, so it took 60 reps to get to that number. But who's counting? And I did some good exercises for my legs and abs. My heart rate got up there. I was really proud of myself for pushing as hard as I did.

But, you know what? When my alarm went off, I soooo did not want to get up and work out. I would have much rather stayed in bed for another half hour.
Come to think of it, that's exactly how I felt during my workout Saturday. About half way through my first set of exercises I thought, Ahhh. This is good enough. I don't need to do another set.
But something in me knew it would be better for me if I kept on going. I knew I would benefit if I could just press on.

So I did.

And in the end, I was glad.

Have you been there, too? Wanting to quit, but knowing you really need to press on? Perhaps you're there right now.
I find myself there all the time - in exercising, in mothering, with difficult relationships, even in the midst of God-ordained trials. I want to quit. The pressure feels like it's too much for me. I fear I'm going to fall under the weight of the situation. I'm sure it would be eaiser to just give up. (Please tell me I am not alone!) But I know I need to press on.

So I come to my Father, admitting my weakness. My neediness. And I ask Him to be my Strength. I ask Him to give me the grace I need to press on.
* To love the teenager who is on my last nerve.
* To be kind to the person who is rubbing me the wrong way.
* To keep trusting Him, even when I don't understand.

And God is faithful. HE always carries me through!

Do you need encouragement to press on today? I know the One who can give it to you. And, by the way, the end result will be so worth the struggle it took to get there!

Karen

5 comments:

Patricia said...

Oh no, my friend, you are SO not alone in this!! Great encouragement for today!

And you are soooo right! The end result is ALWAYS worth the struggle!!

Jodi@ underthegeorgiasun.com said...

I can identify with each of these:

* To love the teenager who is on my last nerve.
* To be kind to the person who is rubbing me the wrong way.
* To keep trusting Him, even when I don't understand.

And yes, when we stick with it, the results can be such a blessing!!

gianna said...

And I want to say the end result will be even BETTER if we struggle our way to it.

Leah Adams said...

Been there...recently. Often it is about halfway through my pilates class or a writing project or any number of things. Oh yes, I understand. Thankfully God gives us the strength to go on.

Karen Hossink said...

Patricia - It's always good to know we aren't alone, isn't it?

Jodi - We really need to meet some day. I think we might be long-lost sisters. :o)

Gianna - The struggle makes us appreciate the result even more, don't you think?

Leah - If it weren't for HIM, where would we be? Probably stuck somewhere in the middle of a bunch of un-done stuff!