Each year ... (or is it every other year? I lose track sometimes - comes with advanced age.) Anyway, around this time of the year, I review a "Top 10" list that I have stuck in my scripture case. It's a personal thing and I don't share the list with anyone - even my husband - so I'm not going elaborate on the things on my list. Suffice it to say, I have no trouble finding 10 things to work on each year and it's good to go back and review and add to and adjust and revise.
Over the past eight or so years, it hasn't changed too dramatically. It's not that I am not making any progress and finding new things to work on in my "Top 10" (replacing things that I've mastered or overcome as challenging character flaws or such.) When I look back over a longer stretch of time, there is quite a bit of change and improvement, I'm happy to say.
That said, I'm hardly satisfied. Being as hard as I am on myself, I don't believe that I'm making the kind of progress that I should. Especially considering the many years I spent as a slacker. There's a lot of catching up to do. And there are still days when I seem to be regressing in areas that I know need focus and concentration.
That's the challenge in this life. There are forces out there - very strong ones - that want us to believe that the task before us is insurmountable. They want us to focus on the lack of progress, get caught up in the day-to-day, and make us lose sight of the bigger picture - the eternal perspective. If I only glimpse the short term, then I fail to realize how far I've actually come and how much I've actually accomplished.
My life's mission is to do good in this world. If I can manage not to be plagued by self-doubts, I am certain that I will be a good and faithful servant during my sojourn here.
No comments:
Post a Comment