“All hard work brings a profit…” Proverbs 14:23
Rarely, did I ever feel like dancing professionally was a job. It felt more like a fun hobby that I couldn’t believe people paid me to do. In fact, I probably would have done it for free.
But there were mornings, when my body plain hurt. My muscles felt so fatigued that they felt like something between jello and mush…with sharp pain mixed in. My feet would often argue with my heart…”too painful, not today, not again.” And my toenails….if they were having a hard day…well, it affected my whole dancing day.
But it was always worth it. Performance day seemed to cancel out any pain I had felt in my body. Performance day seemed to solidify my passion for this thing called professional ballet. Performance day seemed to remind me that all the hard work was worth it. And after performance day, oh how I savored the rest. And I am reminded today, that I need to remember to savor the gift of the days that I get to rest from whatever hard work I am doing!
On those days in the studio, in the laundry room, in the kitchen, at your school, on the practice field, in the office…when you feel like pressing on might take you down, take a breath, a perspective-check, and take this little jewel of a proverb to heart…. “All hard work brings profit.” But here’s the missing link that sometimes we can easily let slide out of focus…we can ask God for help…
“My feet hurt, Lord. My body hurts. I don’t know if I can make my muscles function today, Lord. But Lord, thank You that You invite me to invite YOU to help me. I thank You that You are my strength…YOU are enough for me. Your GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR ME TODAY…in this. (2 Corinthians 12:9) Lord, give me strength. Help me work hard in this even though my heart wants to sometimes throw my pointe shoes (or the kitchen towel, or the computer, or the laundry…) across the room. Remind me that working hard will pay off, but thank You that I don’t have to work hard alone. You give me strength.”
What would happen if you asked God to help you in that thing that feels so hard and so impossible today? And what would happen if you truly savored the days of rest that God slips into your week?
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