Going on vacations always brings a few risks. Bills due are forgotten and not paid on time, emails pile up from work, and new challenges embed themselves into the fabric we call real life. We find the problems waiting for us to get back, struggle to understand why we are special amount the current victims, and then blissfully forget the whole event by the time the next vacation rolls round.
My recent holiday was no exception. The good news is that only one bill payment was missed and is now current. The bad news is that six hundred emails needed to be read or tossed and a whole new depth of challenges faced me when I had the courage to look them in the eye. By the end of my first thirty-six hours back I was ready to give it all up. In my absence no significant progress was made on any critical issue, performance had languished, momentum lost, and a cohesive sense of direction evaporated. Add to the mix a poor conference call review on our weekly performance and I was ready to throw in the towel!
As I tossed and turned last night I wondered about the future. Do I really want to fight to win or is the effort too much?
Sometimes we make it too difficult. I do not know how to fix everything and I realize that nobody is asking me to give the final answers. Life dishes out challenges that are unfair, overwhelming, and debilitating. These are facts and while it is easy to whine but there is a larger issue at stake. What are the real priorities of life?
The real question is simple; do I want to live, really live, or die, die a slow and miserable death? The answer is equally clear: “Everything comes from him [God]; everything happens through him; everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise!” (Romans 11.36) God is life and real living.
God’s is in my corner and yours. I am going to fight to live! Let’s do it.
