It’s been a while since I’ve written anything.  This season of life has come with much busyness to the many hats worn as mom and wife. The words and lessons come but as soon as I sit to type them, they are lost in the abyss of frazzled brain matter. That is until recently.

I had the pleasure of working with a group of people to honor a man celebrating his last year coaching Cross Country. We set out with hopes of doing a video commemorating all his accomplishments through the past 25 years. As we poured over year books from seasons past as well as pictures and newspaper clippings, we came up short looking for what was envisioned for the video. Finding him was much like my writing as of late, you would catch glimpses of him but just as soon as you found him he swiftly disappeared from the pages. I laughed and even compared him to Waldo! However, Waldo was easier to find in the masses of people and drawings on a page than he was. I began to write it off as he didn’t like his picture taken and like me avoided a camera at all costs.

It wasn’t until the banquet got closer that I felt a tug on my heart to look again. So, going through all the pictures we had acquired I sat saying, “Where is he?” Where is he?” I saw plenty of pictures where he stood behind or to the side of the kids, even in the pictures where they went to state. There were several occasions where he was front and center but horizontal as the kids held him up while he held the plaque earned. However, the kids were always pictured either before, during or after races while he seemingly faded to the background. It was then I realized my perception was way off! What I was searching for all along was always there!

You see, in this world we give praise and honor to a coach for the team’s successes. We raise them up, glorify them even, for their skills and efforts while the team accomplishments seem to fade in the background. Don’t hear me wrong!  There are many great coaches and the fore-mentioned is not always the case! Yes, it takes a great coach to inspire the hearts of those they lead! And yes, many individuals are recognized for their talents outside of the team and move on! But a coach should always refer back to those who got them there.  As I began to hear more stories and speak to past and present team members, it became apparent he did just that. His 25 years was never about him but about those he coached. He was not pictured in books because he was engraved on their hearts where neither moth nor dust can destroy. (Matthew 6:19-24 NLT)

What a great testimony and reminder of who the Father is in our walk with Him! We all are on different courses and running different races. Some more difficult and filled with rugged terrain while others are filled with muddy plains and slippery slopes. We are all going to fall, get injured, endure pain and suffer great losses. That’s reality!  However; our wins or losses should not be our primary focus. They just don’t matter in the larger picture.  What matters most is how you run the race set before you despite the challenges. It’s easy to see in those who persevere through great difficulty who their heart is held by. The successes accomplished never about them but pointing to who saw them through every step of the way. We are great because He sees us through the path set before us and there is nothing, not even a trophy or plaque that can replace the greatest reward of hearing our Father say, “Well Done!” (Matthew 25:21)

Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,  since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”