In The Silver Chair, one of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, Jill is reduced to tears. She goes to her room and cries for a while and then, in vintage fashion, Lewis writes, “Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do.”
I wasn’t reduced to tears today but I started to get frustrated and feel sorry for myself. At one point during an aerobics class I was struck by how much I had lost. Let me be clear. Through no merit of my own, I am in better shape than 90% of the people in this rehab facility. And I’m seeing great progress–every day I’m getting stronger and better. But during that aerobics class I was struck by how much ability I had lost and I wanted to quit. But I remembered Lewis’ line and I thought: “So what if I quit this class and go off and sulk. What does that accomplish? At some point I have to figure out what I am going to do. At some point I have to face these challenges that lie ahead and work through them.
I frequently quote the Apostle Paul’s admonition to “Press on”. It comes from Philippians 3:15-21 where we are told to “press on towards the GOAL for the prize of the higher calling of God in Christ Jesus”. It’s when we don’t want to press on but when we need to. The changes that we want to see in our lives are always the result of the grace of God. We cannot change our heart in the right way on our own. But we are not passive in the process. Sometimes we need to bring some tenacity.
“Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do.” Let’s decide that we want to get better.
Press on,
Mike