One Leaf at a Time

I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. Acts 20:23, 24 (NIV)

We just completed our yearly task of raking leaves. We have three huge maple trees in our front and back yards which, in my opinion, overproduce leaves. A quick search on the Internet to see how many leaves an average maple tree has turned up one answer: a lot! My husband promises every November that he is going to chop them down, as we both loathe raking and bagging the millions (oh, there are millions!) of leaves. We bagged over 50 bags of leaves, all which are piled in our front yard awaiting pick up. The task when we first begin always seems impossible. We know that even though we start in the morning, we are racing the sun to get done by sundown. Two years ago, we were finishing by flashlight! Last year, our thick gloves were slowing us down, as opening a trash bag through a half inch of Thinsulate and cotton is no easy task. This year, however, the sixty-five degree weather made the task a bit more pleasant. Although I was a big liability as I am 28 weeks pregnant, I did my best as Chief Bag Holder and Leaf Compactor.

Like most long-haul tasks, the leaf raking for us starts out as fun. We have a job to do, and there can't be that many leaves, so we start off energized, confident that it won't take but a few hours. Three hours later, and no end in sight, we get a bit disenchanted with the whole process. When the sun starts dropping faster and faster, talk of giving up starts to enter our conversation. Giving up gets more tempting. But we can also see how far we've come and know that if we stop now, it would do no good.

The same can be said for our Christian walk. We are on a long path when we walk with God. Temptation to give up stares at us from every point. We think we cannot go on, but when we look at how far we have come, we can see that giving up now would do no good. Paul, in the verses above, had been through many horrendous trials. But he knew he had to finish the race of life. He knew the task Christ charged him with and he knew he had no alternative but completing it. He knew his life meant nothing outside of completing the mission of testifying to the Gospel. I am sure that when he started, Paul had dreams of how his life would go. Once his eyes were opened to Christ, he had the call of spreading it around the world. He had no idea what was before him. I am sure at some point, giving up sounded very tempting. Why go through another beating, stoning or just plain being ignored? Why finish an unsavory task? He did it because he knew it had to be done, and he was the one to carry it out. Just like our leaf raking. It has to be done, so we have to just do it. What has to be done in your life? What task has God placed within your life that seems overwhelming? Rake by rake, bag by bag, your task can be done. It may seem overwhelming, you may want to give up, but when you see the completion, the satisfaction of obedience, of your job well done, is worth it.

God, show me the tasks that I need to do for Your Kingdom, so that I may start and finish the mission You would have me to do. Give me the strength to see it completed and the willing heart to stick with it, even when it seems overwhelming. Amen.

Nikki Hamsher