Olympic Inspiration

With the Olympics starting I’m thinking of all the training, discipline, effort and excitement for the athletes from around the globe. For some this will be the last big event in there athletic careers and they are pushing themselves hard to finish strong. As parents, we have some “olympic” events – high school graduation, college graduation, weddings - and some times we push ourselves (and our children) to finish strong. But today, I am looking at the last few weeks of summer and I want to push myself to finish strong even in the small day-to-day events! To me that looks like meaningful encounters with the kids, keeping our summer responsibilities on track, looking at our summer goals and assessing our progress, and, of coarse, squeezing in some last minute family fun!

It is easy for me to get a little cranky and even a little lazy about this time of year. I’m torn; part of me is resisting the busyness of school, sports and all that it brings. But another part of me is craving a little more structure and routine. Some days I feel like an Olympic athlete putting in long hours of strenuous training. Today, I choose to focus on the goal – to raise well adjusted, Christ loving, self reliant adults. Getting there takes a great deal of discipline on my part. It takes many days of consistent training. I will watch the Olympics and see the many well trained athletes experience the fruit of their efforts. I will let the Olympics be my reminder to keep training….to keep intentionally parenting my children….to finish strong every day!