Focus to the Finish

I have started so many projects, so many manuscripts, so many journeys that I never made it to the end of.

I have unfinished quilts, knitted afghans the sizes of potholders, hundreds of pages of novels, first drafts of movies. Unfinished. Collecting dust.

In dissecting the situations, I realize I had all kinds of distractions whistling at me, while other life circumstances arose out of the shadows.

However, I found that the biggest diversions all pointed to - me.

Somewhere along the process, I lost my focus.

Like a kid in a toy store, I let shiny objects catch my eye; I diverted my ears toward the loudest noises and my eyes were drawn toward objects with the fastest motions.

All these things, I allowed to snatch my attention away from whatever task was at hand - which would not have been the worst thing - except I never returned to the original tasks.

So, Lord help me to focus, to concentrate, to return to the unfinished tasks and to focus to the finish.

For the race is not given to the swift, nor the battle to the strong but to the one who endures to the end.

After every attempted endeavor, I want to be able to say like Paul did at the end of his journey - I have finished my course, I didn't detour and fail to return to the path, but I've run that leg of the race to the finish and for this ... I give God praise!

For a strong finish, I give God the glory.

Because I remained focused to the finish, I say, HALLELUJAH!

Keep your eyes on the prize. You will be glad you did.