"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me..." Acts 20:24 (NIV)

Devotion:
My first instinct was to leave the clean, folded clothes on top of the dresser. Granted, my arms were filled with freshly laundered items, so it would have been difficult to open the drawer while balancing the stack. I had an excuse for leaving them on top. Didn't I? Instead, I pushed past my instinct, took 30 more seconds, and placed the clothes neatly in the drawer.

This tendency to not complete a task happens with surprising regularity. I toss my bathrobe on the bed, drape jeans on the tub, and set the television remote on the nearest counter top. However, sometimes, when I'm a bit more self-aware, I take the few extra steps needed to actually finish the task.

Years ago, I realized my practice of stopping short of finishing what I started, led to a cluttered home and office. Back then, I had a multitude of unfinished tasks that I just lived with. It wasn't all simple things like putting away clothes, but included larger tasks like leaving a wall half painted.

Starting a project is fun, and usually involves a burst of energy. Then, that energy wanes as I approach the finish line. Instead of pushing to complete the task, assignment or project with excellence, I lean towards settling for good enough. Unfortunately, when I settle for "good enough" consistently, I learn to live with mediocrity. And accepting mediocrity is far from where God wants me to be. You see, finishing what we start is more than a good organizational or home management skill. It's also a spiritual discipline.

As I identified the tendency to settle, I realized it affected me in a variety of ways throughout my life. In the past I accepted a distant relationship with God rather than one of intimacy. I've limited my understanding of Scripture to a surface level. My relationships with others have gone no deeper than, "Hi, how are you doing?" Instead of pushing to explore the fullness of what God offers in all areas, it is easier to stop short. Perhaps it's safer. Simpler. And with less personal discomfort or inconvenience.

Interestingly, it's actually been somewhat simple to address this issue. I admit the tendency within myself to settle, and I get firm with myself about it. Now, when I would prefer to leave the dryer full of clothes, or emails half typed, I say to myself, "Finish what you start." I make a conscientious decision to finish the task at hand before I move on to something new. Obviously, there are some projects that require more effort, but this works on a lot of my issues.

I'm not sure of all the reasons for stopping short of finishing with excellence, but I do know the results. I end up with a bunch of unfulfilled commitments, open loops and shallow relationships. That's a far cry from the life Jesus came to bring, which is full and abundant. Not a partial life, but one lived with pushing to the limits and exploring the outer reaches.

Maybe that seems a deep principle to pull from putting clothes in a drawer or a dirty bowl in the dishwasher. However, the discipline of finishing well is one that is woven through my life ... or it's not.

So I guess I'll take the extra step and actually hang up my robe. It's one more stitch in this tapestry of finishing well that God is trying to create in my life.

Dear Lord, thank You for demonstrating finishing well through the life of Jesus I know Jesus could have stopped short of paying the price for my salvation. But He didn't. For that I will be eternally grateful. Please help me push through mediocrity in my life and explore the fullness You long to bring. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Application Steps:
Identify one home or office task that would take you less than 30 minutes to finish. Commit to finishing this in the next five days.

Reflections:
What are some reasons we avoid finishing certain tasks?

Does procrastination reflect a deeper spiritual issue? Write your thoughts.

Power Verses:
John 19:30, "When he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." (NIV)

Genesis 2:2, "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work." (NIV)

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"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come."Proverbs 31:25 (NIV)

Devotion:
I was 45 when it hit me. We were on vacation and the hotel had one of those cool magnifying mirrors in the bathroom. Well, it was cool until it showed the truth. It seems my "laugh lines" were running amuck and creeping out of the sides of my eyelids.

"What in the world!" I shouted. "How long have I had these trenches in my face? And when were you going to tell me?" I yelped. My wise husband knew a death trap when he saw it, "Honey, I love your eyes," he replied.

Now that I've hit the fabulous fifties, they don't wait for a smile to show themselves; no, the crow's feet have firmly landed and are forever etched in my face. I knew it was obvious one day when a client who works for a plastic surgeon told me she could get me a good deal, then she patted my face.

No one escapes the fact that we all age. One day we wake up and realize the spring in our step has a bit of a squeak, gray hairs are sprouting in the most bizarre places (like cascading from your chin), and everything that was once perky has headed south. Of course this is the exact moment I see a twenty-something bounce across the television screen and everything in me wants to burrow beneath a blanket on the couch with a warm chocolate chip cookie and pretend this will all go away.

Then I hear my grandkids squeal and run into the room. It's time for another round of "The Gramminator!" I roll to the floor and put on my best Schwarzenegger voice and proclaim, "No one escapes the Gramminator!" and the pouncing and wrestling begins.

It's at these moments I realize how much I love being 50-something. The road to get here was not easy; in fact, those lines in my face were earned. Every gray hair represents a tough time of losing a loved one, stressing over finances or crying over a wayward child. The main lesson I've learned along the way is everything in life is temporary. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" (NIV). Whether I'm on the mountaintop or in the valley, neither will last but He will always walk with me.

Today, I choose to laugh and let the lines dig in a little deeper because this is the only day I am guaranteed. We are but dust, here today and gone tomorrow. Besides, my grandson just gripped my face in his sweet little hands and said, "Grandma, you're beautiful." His view is better than the mirror.

Come on, let's embrace this thing called age together and laugh!

Dear Lord, thank You for every gray hair and every wrinkle for they serve as reminders. Each one represents a time of leaning into You for strength. You have provided all I've ever needed. May You always be evident in my life as I laugh at the days to come. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Application Steps:

Choose to laugh today. Take every care and give God thanks and praise for already taking care of it. Then find someone to laugh with.

Reflections:

What causes me to frown?

When will I see my age lines as triumphs?

How can I rejoice and not be afraid?

Power Verses:

Joshua 1:5, "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." (NIV)

Proverbs 16:31, "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life." (NIV)

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"Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp." Numbers 11:11 (NIV)

Devotion:
As we were getting ready to leave for vacation, one of my children asked for a new video game to play on the drive. Knowing all of our available funds were ear-marked for the trip, I told my child "no" and explained in a compassionate and clear reason why I would not be spending money on a video game prior to a vacation. I explained how much fun we would have and how much this fun would cost. Which, as I was sure he understood, did not leave money for buying video games.

At what I thought was a perfectly logical explanation, that same child, who should have been agreeing with me and trying to find ways to help make this wonderful vacation happen, actually got annoyed. With me. He said, with a very frustrated voice, that he never got anything he wanted. Accompanied with a heavy dramatic sigh, crossed arms and pout.

The tone of his voice, his negative words, and his dramatic body language, raised my eyebrows (I would have only raised one if I could). My back straightened and one hand rose to my hip. "Really?" I said in a low and deceptively calm voice. "You never get anything you want? On the day before we are leaving for an amazing trip that your father and I have worked hard to give you, you can actually say that you have nothing you want?"

Can I just tell you that an ungrateful spirit really is really hard for me to deal with? Especially when I know what is in store.

Sometimes I wonder if that must be how God feels when I grumble about what I don't get. Like when I went through infertility for three years before getting pregnant ... three times ... then adopting. In hindsight, God was really giving me three more years of wearing a size ten and a brain that could finish a complete thought. At that time, all I saw was emptiness.

The truth is, my child was just demonstrating a human reaction to being told "no" or "not now" by someone who knows what the future holds. Sometimes God withholds a "yes" knowing we need to be prepared to receive His goodness in His time. Other times, when we've been told "no" due to our own bad choices or those of others, God withholds a "yes" to teach us something. Or it's a permanent "no" to protect us. Whichever way, God is always working things together for the good of those who love Him.

I don't think my son ever fully understood why I said "no" to the video game. But over time, as he grew and matured, he learned to trust me more, and believe that I really loved him in spite of saying "no." Even as adults, we have trouble understanding God's ways. Sometimes we may never understand. When that happens, I choose to do a few things that help me mature as a believer. Maybe they will help you too:
1) I choose to not complain to others about God.
2) I am honest with God about how I feel, but I don't accuse Him of evil or being out to hurt me.
3) I choose to trust Him. When the doubts start to surface, I choose again to trust Him again.
4) I sing His praises. It reminds me of God's true character, which is always good.

Hearing "no" is never easy. However, as children of a loving Heavenly Father, we can learn over time to trust that He really does have something planned that we are going to love more than what we want right now. When we trust God is working behind the scenes for us, we can control a complaining spirit that threatens to steal our joy. And restore our faith in God's goodness.

Dear Lord, I know I'm often like a child when I get told "no." Help me to understand in my head and in my heart, that You truly love me, and that You are planning something good. Forgive me when I doubt you and voice those doubts in a complaining way. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Application Steps:
Read Numbers 11. Write God's response to the complaining of the Israelites.

Reflections:
What does complaining to others reveal about your character at that moment?

What are some things you can do to stop the complaining cycle and start being more positive?

Power Verses:
Psalm 142:2, "I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble." (NIV)

Philippians 2:14-15, "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." (NIV)

www.proverbs31.org