The Next Step

When I think about the things I've made commitments to in my life, whether it be people, sports, or God, there are two questions that always have had the same answer, no matter what stage it is in the relationship:

1) Do I have a long way to go in this commitment?

Absolutely.

2) Is there any limit to the amount of growth?

Absolutely not.

When I played soccer, well, when I played soccer ALOT, the off-season was always the hardest time - because there was little reward in the near future, as I was preparing for a season that could have been up to 8 months away. It was hard to stay motivated. And after a good season, or a good game, I had the tendency to think "How much more work will I have to do to get to the next level?" And in fact, I think there was a point in my running that I stopped pushing harder, stopped going further - and it showed. I reached a plateau, and by the time my Jr/Sr year rolled around I think I reached my peak, because I wasn't willing to do what was necessary to get to that next level, which is why I decided give competitive soccer up after college. And is also why I gained 15 pounds that winter - I just didn't freaking care anymore! =)

Friendships are like that too. There are certain friends(known to me as "friends for the road") that you may meet in college, or at work, or anywhere really, that just don't really stick. You may hang out all the time for a few months, or even a year or two (college)That never really connect with you past going out to the movies, or going to the town, or eating in the cafeteria, etc. Most people see friends from High school as that, Some people see friends from College as that. For me, It was college. Now I do have 4-5 friends from college that I stay close with, and I love them to death, and we may get to that next level, and probably willbut I haven't connected with them in the same ways I've connected with the people from my home, the great state of Kansas. The fact that there are 5 people from Kansas that I can pick up the phone and have an hour conversation(in fact I usually do with each of them once a week at least) and talk about absolutely nothing - I love that. Maybe its because I transferred schools, maybe its because that's when I did the most growth and we relate better, I don't know...but I havent lived in the same town with any of them for the past 4 years, and you would never know it. I'm going back to see 3 of them in a month, and the other two I spent time with over Christmas break(they don't live in Kansas anymore). It's not hard to talk to people that live around you, that you see alot, that you have physical encounters with - but when you are able to stay close to people simply by talking, and are still able to grow with each other, and learn more about each other, that is amazing.

The reason I relate friendships is because these relationships I have with these people brings us back to "taking it to the next step." With some people, you can't take it to the next step - which is fine - if we could take it to the next step with anyone, friendships wouldn't really mean anything - and I'd be married to Rachel McAdams, or Kate Bosworth, or...Okay I won't go there. But I'd trick either of them into getting to that next step. I'm a smooth talker. It's like in the great American Pie trilogy, when the one guy holds up, in every movie, and says: "To the next step!"(And, naturally of course, his friends make fun of him, as they should) - I love the next step, but im not about to be "that guy" and toast to it! These few people mean so much to me and I will never be able to explain or let them know how much of an impact on my life they have had - but I'll try.

But what about faith? Is it possible to reach plateaus in our faith? Is there a point where we "can't take it to the next step?"

OF COURSE NOT!

Back to answering those 2 questions - Is there more work to do?

Absolutely.

Is there a limit to the amount of work that can be done?

Absolutely not.

Even for a non-believer, think of the question, "Can I become a better person, or can a make an impact in this world," the questions can still be asked, and should be answered the same. We are in an athletic battle. We have to train, aiming for a prize that rewards us in times that we may not expect. We are in a friendship with a greater being, with God, with Jesus. We need to continually take it to the next level - its a "Stairway to Heaven" as Led Zeppelin put it - an endless staircase that always requires us to go to the next step - and not matter what, there is always a way to the next step. With our friendships, there may not be. But with God, there is.

What is our immediate reward? In Phillipians 4, Paul writes:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. "

Note the line I italicized. I'll say it again: And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding. What does this mean? We are given a gift - a peace. A peace that we can't explain. A peace when I lay my head down at night that I will be taken care of when I wake up in the morning. A peace that when a parent dies they will be taken to heaven. A peace that I know if I wait and have faith in God, that I will find my calling and will have all my needs met. And indescribable peace. A peace that can be felt, and seen, but not explained.

So I'm going to always do whatever I have to do to get to the next step - in everything I do. I'll put my whole heart into it - and if I am not, I'll pray to find out what I need to be doing to get there. And in the mean time, I'll embrace Grace, as always, and live in this peace that is described in Phillipians 4. This last line is the same verse, from The Message translation:

"Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."

Let us all find what it means to have God displace our worry, and feel comforted.