Victory Reserved

If you've never had the joy of competing in a short or long distance triathlon, allow me to fill you in on the particulars.

First, the event consists of three separate sports (swim, bike, run). You train in all three sports as best you can for months and get to the event on race day very early, still a little tired because you couldn't sleep the night before. You check out the course and begin to wonder if the distance seems a little longer than those in your training. Just before you get in line to start the swim, you find without fail that something goes wrong (your goggles break or you forget the race belt). Then you're off. You swim and swim, then realize you are off course, so you correct yourself, zig-zagging across the lake. All the while you are getting kicked by other swimmers, trying to see where you are going with foggy goggles and gulping a fair amount of (less than tasty) water. But then, just as your arms begin to fatigue, the final buoy comes within sight and you head straight for it. You climb out of the water, remove the goggles, cap, and ear plugs, and try to keep from slipping onto your rump.

You reach your bike, helmet goes on, shirt goes on, shoes go on and you are in motion once again. From there it gets a little less chaotic. Cyclists go their own pace and until you get passed by another rider as though you are standing still, your pride is somewhat still intact. You ride and ride, and ride. There are several 'testosterone sprints' as cyclists pass each other back and forth, vying for front position. The ride can be a solemn part of the race, passing by cornfields or lakes, thinking about your day, the reward meal after the race or the friends also in the event that you haven't seen since the start. As you near the bike course exit, you visualize yourself taking off the bike shoes and helmet, putting on the running shoes and thinking, "almost home." You dismount, and in a slight frenzy, quickly walk the bike to your rack location (among hundreds of other bikes). Helmet and cycling shoes get tossed, running shoes and race belt go on, and away you run.

Pace is the name of the game at this juncture. Run just hard enough to push your limits but not so hard that you run out of steam before the end. Just when there are about 2 miles to go, pick up the pace. Just when there is a mile to go, pick up a little more. Just when you hear the cheering, clapping, and announcements, pick it up some more. And just when you see the finish line, give it everything you've got and finish strong.

And even though in this event if you didn't place first or one hundred and first, you are yet victorious. You were victorious long before you crossed the finish line, long before you reached the starting line, even long before this day began. You were victorious in your mind the moment you saw yourself reaching that goal. You were victorious in your words by reminding yourself on those difficult days, "You can do this." You were victorious in your actions when you made sacrifice after sacrifice to prepare yourself to overcome each and every obstacle.

The application is this: Victory is not just reserved for the finish line, but for every triumphant moment of life.

Where are you victorious? Where can you be victorious? The most substantial victory for me is to know that I am a disciple of Christ and consequently, an instrument of God. And not just a blunt instrument, but a fine surgical tool, designed to get in deep below the surface. Designed to help my sphere of influence to recognize that there is freedom in surrender, that there is redemption in repentance, that without God, life is devoid of any tangible meaning.

Each of us has some area of victory to behold (either ongoing or changing) in life, whether we chose it or it is chosen for us. At this moment, it could be to take a step away from giving in to fear, doubt, and disbelief; it could be to take every step possible to restore your marriage; it could be a step to act in obedience to your commitment to Christ (in baptism or love); it could be a step to offer a shoulder to lean on for a friend in need; it could be a step to take courage say 'No' - 'No' to the enemy, 'No' to lies, 'No' to giving up when it is seems there is no hope left to hold on to.

And will some victories fall short? Yes, they most certainly will. But even in defeat do we press on, to rise again. For if we find victories in the little things, the grand victory may just be a little closer than we think.

Nate

The Law of The Harvest

Driving through the Midwest in late summer, one can easily find endless rows of corn, wheat, and other crops preparing to be harvested. The harvest feeds so many and in so many different ways - and it is amazing that one little seed can be the catalyst for so great a crop. And if you've ever spent much time on the farm, you've come to know that there is preparation involved, that, if ignored, can result in disaster.

The preparation involves purposing the process with clarity, with direction. What are the steps necessary to get the desired results - a bountiful yield?

The preparation begins with the end in mind - what will this harvest look like?

The preparer evaluates resources: What are the available tools for sowing...the weather conditions...the previous year's harvest...the quality of the field?

The preparer is aware of what is sown. What can be known of the harvest without knowledge of the seed?

Likewise, unless we prepare our own lives to yield the great harvest, we may despair to find that the yield has left us unsatisfied and scratching our heads.

What is the quality of the field of your heart and your mind? The condition of your heart and mind determines the quality of the yield - your output. How have you prepared the field of your life? Have you been thinking of the outcome of your decisions from the very beginning or after the consequences have nailed you square in the jaw? Do you have a clear purpose to add clarity and direction to the process of your life's harvest? To what resources have you been seeking to prepare your harvest? Has it been the creator's wisdom or that of the creation? How is that working out?

When we apply the law of the harvest to our own lives, we are almost forced to ask ourselves what we have sown over all these years, even this week, this day, or this very hour and what then has been our harvest? Has it produced a good crop, one worthy to be laid at the feet of God or has it left us with chaff and without excuse?

You see, just as in the natural world, an absolute reality emerges around our own lives - simply put, we reap what we sow. There are no two ways around it. If we hope our lives to yield a great harvest, enough to feed not only our flesh that will one day return to the dust of the earth, but also (and more importantly) our own eternal souls and others' as well, we must start by examining the seed and soil of our own lives.

Is the farmer sowing good seed on good soil, where seed will produce a crop, thirty, sixty, even a hundred times what was sown? Or sowing on thorny soil where "the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke...making it unfruitful" (Mk 4:18-19)?

If we honestly ask ourselves just whom can be fed from the yield of our lives, some may be pleased to witness that the harvest is bountiful and should praise God, while others may realize that the harvest is lacking and need to take time to do some serious re-evaluation, make some head and gut level changes, and begin to sow with a righteous and teachable heart.

Either way, just as we are called not to be happy, but to be holy, we should make every effort to prepare now for a great harvest - while we still can...

Nate