March 22, 2023 I broke my streak. It was probably a decade ago. Several colleagues and I were competing as a team in a weight-loss competition at the industrial facility where we were employed. Our employer had a fitness center onsite, so one of my teammates and I would meet at the end of our workdays to hit the gym. I had a routine for days days I wasn’t at work, too. My goal was to exercise at least six days each week through the six-week contest. My team was in it to win it, and I wanted to carry my weight for the team (or lose it, as the case may be). We were just over a month into the contest, and I had done every workout – six days every week. And then there week when I didn’t. I don’t remember what happened, but I remember not getting in a workout two days in a row – my rest day and one other. I failed in my attempt to hit my six-days-a-week goal. I beat myself up about it. I kept telling myself I had failed to meet a commitment and had let my team down. As I apologized to my workout buddy for failing to live up to my commitment, she snapped me back to reality. “You’ve lost the highest percentage of weight on the team. You can take a day off. Missing one day didn’t negate the 30-plus days before that.” I thought of that recently as I completely and utterly failed in my Lenten commitment and caught myself dwelling on the failure. One bad day didn’t negate the efforts before it. I’m no expert, but I don’t think God grabs an eraser and blots out all the times we’ve tried to be close to Him when we have one little lapse in our efforts. I’m pretty sure God takes joy in our attempts. I think He also takes joy in the fact that we’re sorry for our failings and seek His forgiveness. He gives that forgiveness freely and time and time again. That’s a streak that’ll never be broken. |
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