
Back in the day, I attended a popular summer youth retreat, where teenagers from churches all over the state flocked to a scenic campground in the Arbuckle Mountains. The event organizers split us up into random teams with equal numbers of people, to encourage everyone to get to know each other.
The next day was spent enjoying one competitive event after another, pitting team against team. There were fun games like three-legged races, obstacle courses, and tug-of-war. I’ll always remember the tug-of-war, because My team was sure we could win. Our anchor was a huge football player from a top-tier high school.
The contest started and we were prevailing. However, after about two minutes of tugging, a few of our non-athletic members let go of the rope and walked away. Then, a few more did the same thing, followed by even more. That left only three of us pulling against the whole other team, who showed no signs of giving up.
Needless to say, we started losing the ground we’d gained, and fast! I called out to our team members, who were watching from the sidelines, encouraging them to come back and help us. But none did.
To this day I’m ashamed to say what happened next: I quit too. The other non-athlete and I let go, leaving the big football player to pull against the whole other team by himself. I can still see him turned around backwards, crawling and clawing at the grass as they pulled him across the line. He refused to quit.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.2 Timothy 4:7
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:9
Kind reader, I’ll never forget the sight of that football player’s grit. The Apostle Paul had it too. He was an amazing role model! Today, and every day, may we share the same resolve to never give up in doing God’s work.
If you enjoy micro poetry, please visit my blog, All Haiku.
Do you like family friendly short stories? Please visit my blog, Flash Fiction by David


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