The Lesson in The Reality TV Show!

I was flicking through TV channels one day (honestly!) and came across a reality TV show that was relatively popular at the time.  Television and media are so inundated with celebrity ‘this and that’ it could be hard to believe that  anything sensible  can come out of watching  a bunch of people scripting their day to day life! But I tell you, God can use anything. Take for instance the donkey that spoke in the bible ….. (Numbers 22:30).

On this occasion the ‘celebrity’ in question was running a marathon and trying to raise money and awareness for a charity that catered for children with the same disability as her son had. I stopped flicking through channels to watch the programme for a while, mainly because I was wondering why the lady was hobbling along and appeared to be in agony.  She had to stop several times to compose herself enough to go on. She was intermittently holding on to her knee and occasionally having to hop on her good leg. At some point she had a physiotherapist come to her aid, he tried to work some short lived magic but she was soon back to limping.

She was clearly being overtaken by people who appeared less fit in other ways than she did. She was doing this for her son and was determined not to disappoint him or all the people who had so kindly believed in her cause and sponsored her.  A time came mid-way through it all  that she looked so uncomfortable her loving and concerned husband ran up to her from out of the crowd and told her he felt  upset seeing her in so much agony , I remember he said something like  ‘ Babe, You don’t have to do this, you can stop now, you’ve done so well already.’ Her reaction was something that has stuck in my head for a very long time. She turned abruptly towards him, looked him in the face and said ‘I AM doing this.’ What struck me was that she didn’t say something like -‘I’ll try and finish this’, ‘I want to do this’ or even ‘I will do this’.  She didn’t fall in to his arms and say ‘Gosh, I’ve been waiting for someone to give me permission to stop!’  She was emphatic, dogmatic and focused. Her words left no room for doubt or second guessing.

She completed that marathon. I can only imagine the state of her knee afterwards. Her dogged determination, that refusal to waiver from what she believed in doing even when she would still have been lovingly supported if she had given up, saw her accomplish and achieve what she had set out to do, not only for her fans, her supporters and her son but most especially for herself. She did 2 great things that day; she proved to herself that she could finish   and she left me with a vital lesson.

Delving deep in to your inner strength reserve tank never forget

‘ I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfil His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.] Philippians 4:13Amplified Bible (AMP)

Be encouraged.

Sisbee.

xxx