Finishing Strong

Believe it or not, there are less than three weeks left in the year 2014. I don't know where the time goes - the years seem to go by more and more quickly the older I get. (I know there's a "math explanation" to that, but I'll spare you!) As we approach the end of the year though, I think it's important that we finish strong. Whether it's work or school, we should strive to finish the year off well; with momentum to carry into next year. That sounds good, but with Christmas coming and all the extra festivities often taking place, the tendency is more to just kind of coast to the end instead of pushing hard.

The apostle Paul writes about this idea in several places, often using the analogy of running a race:

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." (1 Cor 9:24). 

Having taken up running in the last couple of years, I've come to better understand his point. When I run a race, I want the last mile to be one of my fastest and strongest. During the race I'm thinking, "I don't want to have anything left when I cross that finish line!" As a runner, you always want to finish with the best time possible. No matter what the distance, it's hard work, and you want to reward yourself with a good time. It would make no sense to run hard for five miles and then decide to just walk the last mile. Your mentality is not, "Well, those first five I really pushed it, I'll just stroll along easily now and take a lousy time for this race." No! You want all of that hard work to mean something!

 In the same way, we want the first 2 months of the year to mean something. If you're a student, you want this last semester to mean something. You want to be rewarded - even if it's just knowing that you did you're best for the WHOLE time, not just the first 95% of the time.

 This is one of those posts where I feel I'm writing what I really need to hear myself. My tendency is to want to "shut it down", especially when it comes to my work and job, these last couple of weeks of the year. There are so many distractions and things that I'm looking forward to. I'm blessed in that I can take some time off - I know many of you don't have that option - but the time I'm at work I have a hard time focusing on the tasks at hand. 

 As we finish out this year, though, let us not just ride the coattails of the first 11 and a half months, lets finish strong and start off the next year even stronger. Be cognizant of your mindset in the last days and weeks of the year. Stay focused. Keep your head in the game. And finish strong!

Location: Milton, GA, USA

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