Post Eight-- "Is it Worth it?"

Today has been a great day. I’ve spent much of my day reading, reflecting, and writing.

One question has been on my mind today. “How do we finish well?”

School year.

Soccer games.

A work week.

A relationship.

Chores.

I think our true character is revealed in how we choose to finish. It reveals what we care about or who we care about. Sometimes we get cut off from finishing well and those things are beyond our control... but for the most part, how we finish things matters.

It can be all the difference.

I think back to doing chores growing up. My brother would be in charge of doing dishes. He would just throw them away instead of washing them... so that he could be done quickly. It was obvious that finishing well just meant finishing fast. He didn’t care about the cost of the utensils he was throwing away, or about how my mom would feel when she found out.

I think of this past year and the three races I completed. Each one I tried to finish well. My friend Heather and I ran a half marathon in Nashville. We both had had our moments of pain and mental blocks where we begged the other person to let us stop. But we managed to get to mile 12 of the 13.1 and said to one another “let’s turn on the burners and finish this thing well.” We turned on the burners and passed up tons of people left and right.

And then my burner went out.

Almost completely.

We had to slow down. It seemed like I inched my way through the last mile. As we took the turn for the last .1 mile, I saw people on the side of the road. Passed out with medics by their side. I kept thinking...dude, you have .1 mile to go!! Get up and do it. I couldn’t imagine getting that far and dropping. Now, obviously it was a physical ailment that cut short their race, but I couldn’t help but thinking about that last tenth of a mile to go.

That is where it counts.

The end.

The finish.

No one asked me about mile 1 or 2 or 3. It was “Did you finish?” or “What was your time?” While I know life is more about the process than the product, the question still remains... “How do we finish well?”

It’s how we finish that matters. It’s what we will be remembered for. We won’t be remembered for how we started if our finish is anything but triumphant.

So how will you finish well? And I’m not just talking the easy stuff. The hard stuff of life. Relationships. Life. Do we bury our fears and anger in a pit that takes our soul with it or do we walk through the fire, coming out the other side a bit burned but able to breathe again? Finishing well requires us to go through the tough stuff, to be honest, to lay down our fears, to say we’re sorry, to seek grace, to give grace.

Most people aren’t remembered for who they were years ago, they are remembered for who they are...now. For how they finish.

How will you finish well today? Is there something that needs to be said, a project that needs to be completed? A letter of forgiveness that needs to be written? A phone call to a loved one? A relationship that needs to be mended?

Are you seeking flight rather than fight...ask yourself, “How do I finish well?”

Is it worth it to finish well?

I've been listening to the new Revive album. Here's another song that caught my attention. "My Hope."