Building Blocks

This post is by Jen Shultz.

Last spring I offered to help mow the lawn before a storm came in and by mow, I mean ride the lawnmower so my husband could try to push mow where necessary and weedeat before several days of rain. It was a race between me and the clouds. I could see the storm rolling in gradually darkening the plains while I whittled away at the acres needing cut. When I tell you that I was “making the last few swipes” in what would perhaps be described as a heavy downpour, I do so in a chagrined fashion. I am so task-oriented that I was willing to risk a lightning strike on a metal mower versus not finishing what I had set out to do.

 I once believed this was an admirable thing, the willingness to push past any sensible stopping point to achieve a goal. For years, I set goals- some with purpose and some quite arbitrary- and would force a finish no matter the physical or mental cost. Not the healthiest or the most practical thing I have ever admitted to doing, but it is the truth. I would get upset when others did not do the same. Little did I know that they were on to something I had yet to learn. Now, I understand that in the real world most of what we are tasked with accomplishing is a moving target because life has its ebbs and flows. Focuses change and goal lines shift. To not be able to step back and realize that is possibly worse than not having a goal to start with. 

 As I have gained a few years, laugh lines, and gray hairs I have learned that goals are not an end game. They are blocks for building our faith. So, what happens when I decide to just push ahead without ever looking around to see if I am building on the Cornerstone?  That makes the success about me instead of about glorifying God and building a relationship with Him. If I am unable to see the path or plan God has for me, the goals that I am setting are as arbitrary as an Oklahoma gal mowing her lawn in the rain. 

 The setting of goals, large or small, can look very different for each of us. For me, the setting is the easy part. The change can be a challenge. For you, friend, it might be different. Setting, keeping, changing, moving… each can be difficult for a variety of reasons, but the solution is very much the same. That solution is to focus on using our time and talent to become all God made us to be. When we learn to prayerfully set goals and create a vision for growth, those changes and challenges are already accounted for because God already has our steps numbered. Maybe then we are able to realize reaching our goal is not the important part, instead it is the building we are doing along the way.

Jen is a small town, Oklahoma girl married to a superhero. Together, they are raising a family on second chances, shiplap, and a shoestring. She is a firm believer in grace, organization, and efficiency. She finds great satisfaction in taking broken items and giving them new life, likely because that is exactly what God did for her. She over uses the word shine, exclamation points, and emojis. Jen calls her children her greatest accomplishments. A natural born encourager and armchair warrior, she is learning to redefine her mission field and make the most of each day she is given. She has recently been promoted from breast cancer warrior to breast cancer survivor. She’s chronically ill and chronically positive—not necessarily in that order. She is learning to practice perseverance over perfection and longs for the day she gets to see her grandparents and Jesus’ face. Until then, she is just looking for Grace in the Grind.

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash