“Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.'” Luke 9:23

Habits

We drove south to see lifetime friends who were struggling with a disease that was unmerciful and cruel. It devastates not only the body, but the mind. We found them overwhelmed and exhausted. Having just been through the book of Job, my prayer was that we would be true comforters and serve them in whatever way we could. For the most part we listened as they told their story and offered solace in being present with them.

The situation is sad and at this time they can see no way forward. What do we do when we can no longer fix it, figure it out, or come up with a viable solution? How do we endure in the midst of continuing suffering? It was the book of Job all over again.

On Sunday we went to church with them. I heard this story there. Michael Phelps is a highly decorated Olympic athlete. He has won 24 gold medals and 28 medals in total. He has a routine. He practices daily habits in his training. When he competes, he eats the same breakfast every time, he puts on the race suit he will wear in the race, he listens to the same music mix he listens to every day, and he goes over the race in his mind stroke by stroke. These are his customs. He does these things day after day after day.

One time, when the race began, he hit the water and in doing so his goggles shifted on his face and began to leak. Eventually he could not see.  He could no longer see the black markings on the pool bottom or even the lane markings. He was swimming blind, but because he had practiced and counted each stroke over and over in his mind, he swam from those memories. He knew when to turn and he knew it would take 21 strokes to reach the finish line. He not only won that race, he set a world record and won yet another gold medal.

What do we do when we cannot see? We rely on holy habits that have been practiced daily, year after year. We pray. We look deeply into the Word of God. We go to church. We love one another. We trust. We serve one another. We lean on God. We lean on friends and family, both biological and spiritual. These habits established in us enable us to go on. We practice our holy habits even in the dark. We know the way—Jesus, the way, the truth, the life. We will finish our race and find His victory awaiting us.

Keep swimming!

Father, we cannot see our way, but You see clearly. We have always found You to be faithful. So now in this darkness we rely on You to bring us to our desired haven. Your Word and Your truth we will practice daily. Blessed be Your name. Amen.