On Monday of this week, much ado was made about Diana Nyad (pictured below. Photo courtesy of CNN.com). She was the first person to swim the 90 miles from Cuba to Key West without a shark tank. She failed the first 4 times she attempted the swim, but finally succeeded on her 5th and final attempt....at the age of 64.
Her determination was unshakable. She defied so many odds, they are too numerous to name. And she inspired me. Not only to make my lifelong dreams come true...
...but spiritually as well.
Determination means persevering through inconvenience. It means not getting sidetracked or stymied by setbacks. It is about learning from the setbacks and making efforts to get past them. Look at Diana Nyad. Her most recent attempt before this one ended in abject failure because of jellyfish. She did not anticipate them and suffered greatly. In this attempt, she wore a protective face mask and made it to the end.
As Christians, we too must use determination. Like Diana Nyad, no matter how many times we falter and stumble and come up short, we cannot let previous failures and shortcomings dissuade us from enduring until the end. Unlike Diana Nyad, however, our reward at the end of this race is not just a bit of media coverage and perhaps an athletic endorsement. Our reward is Heaven and an eternity in the presence of the Almighty.
So I challenge you to make up your mind to make Heaven your goal and then take a page out of Ms. Nyad's book and make every set back a stepping stone. God's grace and good ol' fashioned determination will see you through to the end.
Her determination was unshakable. She defied so many odds, they are too numerous to name. And she inspired me. Not only to make my lifelong dreams come true...
...but spiritually as well.
Determination means persevering through inconvenience. It means not getting sidetracked or stymied by setbacks. It is about learning from the setbacks and making efforts to get past them. Look at Diana Nyad. Her most recent attempt before this one ended in abject failure because of jellyfish. She did not anticipate them and suffered greatly. In this attempt, she wore a protective face mask and made it to the end.
As Christians, we too must use determination. Like Diana Nyad, no matter how many times we falter and stumble and come up short, we cannot let previous failures and shortcomings dissuade us from enduring until the end. Unlike Diana Nyad, however, our reward at the end of this race is not just a bit of media coverage and perhaps an athletic endorsement. Our reward is Heaven and an eternity in the presence of the Almighty.
So I challenge you to make up your mind to make Heaven your goal and then take a page out of Ms. Nyad's book and make every set back a stepping stone. God's grace and good ol' fashioned determination will see you through to the end.
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