Celebrating the Mile

Something very exciting happened today.  Although it is something in my personal life, it applies to my ministry as well.  Hang with me to see how…..

Today, for the first time in my life, I ran a mile without stopping! Even in high school where we were required to run a mile for the fitness test, I had a strategy of running the straits and walking the curves.  I never actually ran the whole mile without stopping.

At first, I was disappointed.  My goal is to run a 5K.  Eventually I would like to run a marathon.  One mile seems so far from those goals.  When I knew I had to stop running (feeling light-headed, veering off the treadmill, etc.) I was really bummed that I couldn’t run longer, farther, and faster.  The 5K began to seem unattainable.  I left the gym feeling completely discouraged.

As I walked to my car, I suddenly realized – Wait a minute, I just ran a mile! I’ve NEVER done that before! That is worth celebrating!

As I began planning my celebratory breakfast, I thought about my ministry.  I have some 5k goals and  marathon goals.  I realized that there are going to be small, “mile” achievements along the way.  It is easy for me to look at the end and get discouraged with how far I have to go.  I need to remember to celebrate those miles.

So as I complete my “environment” proposal for my pastor, I will celebrate! I’ve never presented him a formal proposal about our ministry space before.  When we transform our first hallway I will celebrate, because we’ve never had anything but beige on the walls before! 

If we don’t take time to celebrate the ”miles,” we may never have the endurance for the marathon.

My bacon was delicious this morning – a breakfast of champions.  That’s how I like to celebrate!

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