WILL IT EVER BE OVER?

Oh, I wanted to quit!

If you have been following my recent journey with my heart health, you know that I am undergoing a treatment that requires me to drive over an hour, round-trip, to complete an hour-long treatment every day on Monday through Friday for a total of 35 treatments.

The seven weeks seemed daunting at the beginning. I wasn’t looking forward to making this trip every day during the summer months.

But, as I have told my son about parenting, “the days are long, but the years are short.” So, it seems with medical treatment. The days have been long, but the weeks have become short.

At the halfway point, the medical personnel did an evaluation to check for issues and concerns. I had not seen any results. In fact, I felt worse than when I started. I was so discouraged. However, the nurse doing the evaluation really encouraged me to complete the treatment.

Quitting was definitely an option. Continuing was the other option. The success rate of those who complete the full treatment is extremely high for a medical procedure. Even though I had not improved did not mean that I would not later, even after all the treatments are over.

Why do we want to quit something that is good for us? That has been my $64,000 question these past few weeks.

For me, I was tired. I was not getting the results I thought should be happening. The cost of the treatment was not producing any value.

Thankfully, I had people around me to encourage me to keep going—my family, some friends, and the medical personnel who had actually seen results in many, many other patients. Even with great encouragement around me, it is still my own decision that determines whether I continue my treatment.

(I chose to continue and finish the treatments. I have now finished over two-thirds of the treatments. Woo hoo!)

Aren’t we all faced with numerous choices these days? Where to get that morning cup of coffee. What to wear that day. How to act in traffic. How to spend our money. And the question everywhere we turn: to be vaccinated or not to be vaccinated.

Every choice we make affects our lives in some way.

God created mankind with the ability to make choices and have free will. He loves us too much to make us like puppets. He would love for us to love Him, but He never forces us. He allows us to choose Him or to reject Him.

Even after choosing to love God, we have the option of stopping a relationship with God and walking away from Him. When we turn from Him, we make the choice to follow the world’s standards and ways. We can quit God. But, if we make that choice, God’s blessings are no longer available to us.

The Christian life is a long journey; in fact, it is for eternity. So, the days may seem long here on earth while we contend with the worldly choices around us screaming for us to follow them. But the years…well, here on earth, they will one day seem very short but they will last forever and ever in another place.

So, let’s not quit the Lord. Let’s not quit encouraging one another. Let’s allow God to continue to bless us.

I want to finish. I want to see the benefits of my heart treatment. More importantly, I want to finish my life here on earth with my relationship with Jesus as my Savior and Lord. He promises rewards for those of us who endure. But, even if there were none, I know my life has been enriched by Him each and every day through each and every incident that I believed was difficult.

He is my strength! He is my refuge to find rest! He created me to walk with Him!

“Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.” 2 Timothy 2:5

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

“I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 16:8

 “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” Galatians 6:9