Paddling Upstream

I had put it off too long. I needed to just face the fact that I wasn't going to lose the twenty pounds. My highlights were just going to have to be four months overgrown. My horrible night's sleep and less than desirable outfit choice were just going to have to suffice. I had a window of opportunity of about ninety free minutes to get my expired license renewed. A half hour later, I tried to perk my eyes open and smile the best smile that I could muster. It didn't work. The black and white picture in my hand was all the evidence anyone would need to prove I was indeed four years older.

I showed James my previous license picture and then I showed him my new one. Let's just say, the last four years had taken a toll. Now, this was an interesting place in which to put my husband, but he was a gem. "I think it's the lighting," he said. "No James, they are wrinkles on my forehead." He wouldn't let it go. "No, no, come over here in this light," he continued. Not buying it, but hoping somehow he was right, I sulked over to the kitchen table. "See, look there, I think it was just the lighting." Bless his heart.

A week or two later, I received the official new driver's license in the mail. My fears were confirmed. My picture showed every sleepless night with a toddler, every worry regarding my older children, every disappointment, every up and down over the past four years. Finally, James just laughed with me, and I slid the card into my wallet.

We are all aging. We are all facing opposition. We are all living in a sin filled world. I heard a pastor encourage his congregation this week to keep paddling upstream, and I think it is a wonderful analogy of a Christian in our world today. It's easy to get swept into the current, to put emphasis on materialism and things that frankly will not matter in eternity. It's easy to go along with idealogies that are popular in our "Christian" culture but emphatically against God's Word. But, it's hard to swim upstream, pressing on for the cause of Christ and fighting against mediocrity.

The Bible says our Christian life is like a battle. We are to put on our armor and face the giants on a daily basis (Ephesians 6:10-18). Friends, I'll be honest with you. I have deep battle scars, scars that still are painful to touch. There are days when I just feel too weary to put on my breastplate of righteousness, too tired to even pick up my sword, but I am not fighting this battle alone. Deuteronomy 20:4 encourages, "For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory." God has called me to an active Christian life. Do I get wounded? Yes. Do I get tired? Yes. But, I don't have an option to just retire from God's army. In Mark 13:13, we read, "And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."

Endure.

Persevere.

Fight the battle that God has already won.

Honestly, when I look at my license picture, I see a woman nearing her forties who is just plain tired. But I see, a woman who is standing by the grace of God and fighting for truth, no matter how deep the battle scars. And, it's ok. In the end, I have one person to please. May He find me faithful.

"He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."

1 Thessalonians 5:24