Showing Up

It's hard for me not to think of success in terms of moments. When the president of the university shook my hand on graduation day, for instance, or when I crossed the finish line at my first marathon. It's easy to be able to point to these moments and say, "That was a success." 

But of course, moments of success are not things that swoop into your life like an Amazon drone delivery. Every Olympian who has stood atop a podium--for that matter, every Olympian who has suited up for her country--has years of showing up, day after day, even through grueling days and thoughts of giving up, fighting for each bit of progress, each incremental step toward the final goal. You don't have a success today without the work of yesterday. Success happens in showing up.

We all have days when getting to work fully clothed is the only success we have all day. And as migraine-inducing as those days are, we probably shortchange ourselves if we don't accept the small moments of success when they arrive in the midst of such angst. And the good news is, even we we're at our worst, God is still at his best.