At least five days a week, for all of my childhood, my mother put on her armor and went off to do battle.
Having grown up with little, my mother became motivated at a very young age to have something of her own, to gather enough resources to run her own life. And that meant having a paying job.
But she persevered. A part of that was diligence, hard work, good work; but a big part of that, as anyone in management can tell you, is looking the part.
My mother was focused. She had a plan. And she used everything at her disposal to pursue her objective. She even went so far as to rest her head each night on a satin pillow because it preserved that armor for the coming day.
But, here's the thing: Though she achieved some successes in her career, she never believed she had "arrived," never came to a point where she felt it was time to "rest on her laurels." She continued to pursue her objective of ever improving accomplishment, and she continued moving in the direction of her goal.
In this week's scriptures, Paul's letter to the Philippians sets the same example for us in the pursuit of our relationship with the Lord. We must press on. We must not assume we have "arrived." Sure, our "battle armor" differs from what my mother used in pursuit of her career. But, like her, we are to bring every bit of ourselves to the process.
We are expected to actively pursue spiritual maturity, pressing on until the day we are finally told, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
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GRAPHIC:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/559924166167297532/
Dolly Parton sings Working 9 to 5:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq1JD-bcGTo
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If you're in Waco on Friday morning, join us at 8:00 for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We share a meal and the pleasure of talking about how the words of the Bible actually work in our real lives. We'll be on Zoom** and at Our Breakfast Place.
Blessings,
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