My thought this week: All In. Or Am I? When my son, Jon was in college he was a member of the Truman State University swim team. His events were the distance and endurance events - the 400 IM, 200 Butterfly, 1000 yard free and the mile – yes, the mile; 66 laps in a 50-yard pool. That’s 14 minutes of stroke, stroke, stroke, breathe. It’s also 66 laps of me shouting out “Swim Jon”, “Kick Jon”, “Catch him Jon”. Jon couldn’t hear me, his head was in the water, but that didn’t matter. There was no way I could not yell, cheer, cajole and root him on to the finish. Fast forward to earlier this week; my daughter, Kate coaches a local high school volleyball team. She pours her heart into these girls every day and the team has great potential but sometimes it just doesn’t click and they have a tough night. That was Tuesday night. But there I am in the stands, yelling, cheering, cajoling and rooting them on. “Move your feet”, “Get that ball” and my favorite “BLOCK!” These are not my girls mind you, but there is no way I can sit in the stands quietly. You see, I am definitely an all-in kind of mom. If my kids did something we were all in. Practices were not missed, schedules were adjusted and commitments were always kept. Period. It’s just the way I am. If a Strom does something as an individual or as a family we do it heartily, enthusiastically and give it everything we have. I’m that way about other things: my favorite college football team, working out, projects around the house. If I am going to do it, I am going to do it with gusto because I am “all-in”. Then I thought, am I really all-in on things that count? Do I get up every morning and dive into my quiet time, eager to see what God has for me? Or do I let a late night, headache or a busy day get in the way of it? Do I eagerly embrace the opportunity to take a meal to someone who is having a rough week or a sick baby or do I let it slide because I’m busy? Do I pray for someone I know is lost or struggling with sin with the same gusto that I cheer on something as temporary as a swim meet or a volleyball game? I Peter 1:24 reminds us of how temporary the things of this world are: “All men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” It’s really clear about what is truly forever and a reminder that I need to be “all-in” on things that are really important in God’s eyes. So will I cheer my kids’ efforts on? You know it. Will I be the biggest Florida State football fan in Bowling Green? Without a doubt. But more importantly, my prayer is that I will be a child of God who embraces a relationship with God in both hands and says “Here I am God. I am all-in with you.”
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 19:27:33 +0000
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