The Finish Line
TO PERSEVERE IS TO DO RIGHT EVEN WHEN IT IS HARD OR WHEN YOU ARE TIRED.
Bible Reading of the Day: Read Galatians 6:4-5, 9-10.
Verse of the Day: “Don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time” (Galatians 6:9).
Killian slumped down onto the kitchen floor. “I don’t want to clean up!” she said.
Mom smiled. She and Killian had been baking cookies and brownies all afternoon for a church sale. She could tell that her daughter was tired and was tempted to let her stop working. But instead she sat down next to Killian on the floor.
“We’ve worked really hard, haven’t we?” Mom said.
Killian frowned. “And I don’t want to clean up,” she repeated.
“But cleaning up is part of the job,” Mom answered. “Don’t you think we should stick with the job until it’s finished?”
“I don’t want to,” Killian said, smacking the floor with her hand. Her action created a cloud of flour from the fine film that coated the floor.
Mom laughed and patted the floor with her hand, sending up another cloud. Killian responded by hitting the floor with both hands. Soon they were laughing and rolling together on the four-covered floor, dusted from head to toe with flour. Mom said. “Killian, do you know why I want you to help clean the kitchen?”
“Because you don’t want to do it alone!” Killian answered, her eyes sparkling.
Mom smiled. “That’s part of it,” she admitted. “It is a lot more fun to do something with you than to do it by myself. But I also want you to help me because I want you to learn how to persevere.”
“How to p-p-what?” Killian said, unable to pronounce the big word.
“I want you to learn how to persevere. To persevere means to do what you should even when it’s hard, or even when you’re tired. It means to finish a job you’ve started.”
“You don’t always p-per-persevere,” Killian said.
“What do you mean?” Mom said.
“You didn’t finish sewing my new jumper,” she said.
Mom looked surprised. Killian was right. She had promised to make a new jumper for her daughter and hadn’t touched it in weeks. She smiled. “All right,” she said. “I’ll make you a deal. If you help me finish the job of cleaning the kitchen, I’ll let you help me finish your jumper too!”
“OK,” Killian answered, suddenly cheerful. “I was going to help you anyway,” she whispered confidentially.
Mom laughed and rolled Killian over and over in the flour on the floor.
TO DISCUSS: Is it good to finish jobs you’ve started? Why or why not? What does it mean to “persevere”? Do you sometimes get discouraged and feel like giving up? How can you do what you should even when it’s hard or when you’re tired?
TO PRAY: “Lord, we need your help to persevere when hard tasks come our way.”