Yesterday I heard of a woman on a cycling holiday, riding a
motorised bicycle through the Alps of northern Italy. She paused before
attempting a steep hill, gearing herself up to take a run at it and make it to
the summit. The bike was heavy, and she hesitated too long – her strength gave
way and she toppled sideways onto the verge, bruising her ribs and winding
herself. She put the bike on the bus and rode the rest of the day.
Sometimes tasks loom large and intimidating, and we can
pause too long considering them. As we consider, the task – the hill – grows.
Even when we’ve made provision for our own shortcomings by marshalling friends
and perhaps physical tools to help us, we can linger so long contemplating the
task that the helps we’ve got in place give way and we topple over and give up.
Endurance develops strength of character, encouraging our
hope. Today I face a mundane job which I find tedious but necessary. I’m going
to consider the task, make the plans, and go for it, confident that with God, I
can do it with good grace and no dramatic collapses.
No comments:
Post a Comment