{"id":23718,"date":"2018-08-21T03:30:42","date_gmt":"2018-08-21T10:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=23718"},"modified":"2018-08-16T09:21:27","modified_gmt":"2018-08-16T16:21:27","slug":"august-21-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2018\/08\/21\/august-21-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"August 21, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”\u00a0<\/em>James\u00a01:12<\/p>\n

Short Races<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I’ve been reading a book about “unshakeable faith in unthinkable circumstances.” It’s been encouraging because many of the things that are shared in the book are things I’ve been learning on our own unexpected, “unthinkable” journey. It’s actually been a sweet affirmation of all the Lord has done in our lives, and all the things He has been teaching me.\u00a0He has been so good and so faithful on this journey.<\/p>\n

There’s a quote in the book from Walter Elliot: “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.”\u00a0That rang so true in my heart.\u00a0There have been days when I wondered if I could make it through the day.\u00a0In fact, many times I’ve wondered if I would make it from one minute to the next!\u00a0The moments and the days have passed, and now we’re past the two-year mark. I can’t help but wonder what is still ahead.<\/p>\n

God’s grace, goodness, strength, and faithfulness have helped me to survive all the “short races.”\u00a0I’m somewhat amazed when I think back over all that has happened. I know I couldn’t have made it in my own strength, but He has been abundantly sufficient.<\/p>\n

I guess I’ve never thought about perseverance too much.\u00a0I’ve had a few occasions in our lives when I’ve needed it\u2014and God has always helped me.\u00a0But the idea of perseverance as making it through lots of small things seemed so right.\u00a0If I had looked at two years on this journey back when it started, I’m not sure how I could have faced that.\u00a0But, thankfully, all I had to do was face a moment, a few moments, a day, a few days, at a time! I’m glad God broke it up in bite-size challenges for me.<\/p>\n

Just the other day when I had my medical check-up, I was talking with the doctor about the previous year. I’ve had four surgeries and two types of chemo treatment. I didn’t know about all that beforehand\u2014but, with God’s help, I survived.\u00a0Thank you, Lord!<\/p>\n

Even today, I woke up feeling like a wet noodle without any energy and with lots of post surgery soreness.\u00a0It’s certainly a “little” race, but I knew I couldn’t even make it through the day without His help. It gave me such confidence to know I could call on Him for grace to persevere through this low day.<\/p>\n

As I was preparing to share this today, I wanted to encourage all you dear ones who are praying for us\u2014that whatever you are facing, God will help you get through all the “short races.”\u00a0He is involved in every detail of our lives, and He will help us through them all.<\/p>\n

\u201cFather, help us to run each day\u2019s short races, that we may finish well. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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