Reaching major life goals sometimes feels a lot like playing a game of “last man standing” on the beach as the tide comes in.
Anyone who’s been six and gone to the beach knows what I’m talking about. End of the day. The sun sinks into the horizon, warm on your back. You stand facing the dry sand, knee deep in water, and let the waves try to suck you backward. You can’t see them coming, so you don’t know when to brace yourself against the sudden rush of water against the back of your knees. If you manage to stay upright the waves retreat, pulling you backward, and you struggle to maintain your balance against the sucking of the sea.
One by one the kids around you fall, laughing, into the waves. They surrender to the pressure of forces stronger than a child’s strength to stand. Last man standing wins. As a rule, all he (or sometimes she) takes away are bragging rights and perhaps the satisfaction of knowing (s)he stood against the waves a little longer than the last time – though hopefully a little less than the next time.
As we grow, we sometimes forget the need to stand, laughing, in the water while the waves tug at our knees. We often forget that the world consists of forces much greater than our personal ability to withstand – though the fortunate among us also know we need not stand alone. We also forget that while fortitude alone won’t make you the last man standing, the last man standing always had the fortitude to refuse to fall.
Remember that when everyone around you goes crashing into the waves. Laughing or not, the fact that they reached the end of their fortitude doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve reached the end of yours.
Sometimes, the only difference between knowing you are meant to stand and actually achieving it comes down to simply having the fortitude to refuse to fall.
Trackposted to Perri Nelson’s Website, Leaning Straight Up, The Bullwinkle Blog, third world county, and Pursuing Holiness, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
