Finishing Well

 I hate finishing things, I hate things ending. Really it all comes down to the fact that I hate to say good bye. I hate finishing books (especially book series), I have been known to stretch out the last chapter forever. I hate finishing movies, unless I don’t like the movie. I hate finishing bags of chips or packages of cookies, I like to save the last few and eat them slowly. I hated finishing school and saying bye to friends. Anything where I know I will have to say “good bye” and move on to something unknown and new is one of the worst feelings for me. That is why I usually do not finish well.

The thing the Lord has been teaching me most the last couple of weeks and probably will continue to teach me the rest of my life is to finish well. For me it is so easy to look at what is coming and focus everything on that so that I don’t have to think about saying “goodbye” to the season I am in now.

Sadly I will be leaving New ZealandSeptember 21 and returning to the StatesOctober 14^th. In this time it is really easy for me to look at and worry about what I am going to be doing come October 15^th and miss out on all the things that are happening here in the mean time. It is easy for me to shut off to the things here so that it will not hurt so much to say “good bye” in the end.

The Lord has been showing me so much the last couple of weeks that it is more important for me to finish this season well and focus on all the things he is telling me to do here than it is to look ahead at when is coming. He will worry about the future and I just need to do what He is calling me to do in the present. He gave me these verses the other day and it was such an encouragement and reminder to finish what He has given me.

2 Corinthians 8:10-11 “and in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; but now you also must complete the doing of it; so there also may be completion of what you have.”

We must finish what the Lord has given us to do so that we are prepared for the next steps and the next season He gives us. We must finish what we have started with more energy and excitement than we started with. I don’t know how many of you have run in any races (5k, half marathon, marathon…) but the start is very important, and the middle is important to pace yourself and keep in stride, but the ending is the most important part. As you near the finish line you have to press on and pick up your pace. You can hear the crowd cheering and the excitement of only having so much farther to go is amazing but you must keep moving and finish. If you stop right there with the end in sight you may as well not run the race at all. You haven’t really done anything great you just started a race and well stopped. You have to finish it and finishing in a sprint could mean the difference between completing your goal and finishing last.

I know I must finish my time here is New Zealand well. I can’t shut off and just relax and focus on what is coming when I get to the states. I need to continue to share the Lord with people, and pursue relationships with people. I need to press on toward the finish. And after I have crossed that finish line and landed in LAX I can look forward to the next race that the Lord calls me to.

What are you lacking enthusiasm to finishing well? Know that I am there cheering you on and that others around you are pushing and encouraging you to not just finish, but finish well!!