Because I've played sports most of my life, I've been taught to deal with pain, to play through the hurt until the game is finished. Not always the wisest advice from coaches but it was the consensus opinion nonetheless. It was an attempt to train young athletes to take the nicks and bruises that come with competition and to keep pushing forward. I think those years prepared me for what I go through now. I can't tell you the number of times I have thought it would be easier to "sit this one out" or to walk away because it would be easier (at least it seemed that way). I examine my heart--all the nicks and cuts and bruises that I have received in this life--and think to myself how great it would be to step away and allow some healing. While I have taken the time to do that, I've more-often-than-not pushed myself to stay in the game. As Paul the Apostle would put it, "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Pressing on. On many days it has become my life's mantra. Ignore the pain. Forget the nicks. Train your body to keep moving forward and know that there will be a reward, a prize for those who do not stop the marathon. I guess the up side to it all is this...my longing for heaven increases more and more with every passing day. I can't wait till that day where the bruises and hurts will be healed. Where I won't have to listen to anyone else's opinions of my life or their judgments of my actions. A place where the burdens I bear presently will become long-forgotten memories of a world that used to be. So I keep pressing, keep pushing, keep longing for the "more" that is to come. I will enjoy the moments God gives me here--love my kids, love my job, love the friends He has blessed me with--but will always know that this world cannot compare to the place I long to be.