The Place Beyond

We’ve heard the stories of someone sitting at the infamous one-armed bandit in a casino. They take a break, run out of money, or get up to stretch their legs. Someone else slips into their place, and with the next pull (or push), they break the bank with a winning larger-than-life.

What do you do if you are the winner?
Celebrate!
What if you were the one that stepped away?
Most will get mad.
“That’s my winning! I was stretching my legs!”

We all reach a place where we stop, grow disenchanted, or feel defeated for not winning. Some quit. Some need a break.

If you had kept stepping forward, would lady luck let you have that win? Or did it take another player to make it happen?

Is this the way we all see life? Imagine that miner deep underground, slogging for the mother lode. After finally throwing in the towel, the next digger finds the nugget. Right?!! Or, your special lottery numbers finally win the jackpot, but you decide not to play.

I woke up this morning thinking about the place beyond where we are. All of us. We’ve been plugging away these past few years of pandemicmania, and either we are ready to walk away from normal life, throw in the towel, or have a winner’s perspective.

Sometimes the win comes with the first attempt, but most times, it comes with patience, perseverance, and perspective.

Next Step

I remember a time in the ’80s when I began building radio-controlled airplanes. Buy the Ugly Stick for $19 and about $25 worth of supplies – glue, mylar, and other items. Then you spend nearly $200 for the radio control and servos you use to control the plane. It takes about 8-10 hours to build. Then, the big day cones and you spend more money on fuel and supplies.

After about $300, you go to the flying field and fire the beast up – after all, it’s called the Ugly Stick! You taxi the plane and then launch for the skies! Whoa! This is harder than I thought. Don’t go too far; your radio can only work a few hundred feet! Watch out! Lost control. Crash!

Do you give up? No.
Can you repair your crashed experiment? Maybe.
Remember, building costs only $19 and a few hours at the workbench.

Do It Again! Keep Trying! Don’t Give Up! Success comes to those who persevere, right? After about the 5th time, I finally made a successful flight!

Let’s see. Guitar lessons. Ugh. I could never get the calluses needed. Little League with dreams of the big leagues. I wasn’t that good. Piano lessons because we had to, at least that’s how I remember it. It was hard to find the dual notes of the right and left hand. Cub Scouts? Well, it did give me badges to win, no matter how long I stayed with it. College? They can’t teach me anything new, but a degree sure opens some doors.

Here’s a key thought. You will always walk through life to get to a place of success. Sometimes, the steps are more quickly experienced than at other times, and sometimes there are fewer to take to get to where you want to be. Seldom does anything happen immediately, right? Keep taking steps. Back two, forward one. Sometimes that’s just how it is!

What We Know

What we know is that there are always clear skies above the clouds! The day will be better tomorrow or next month. We get through this valley and find level fields where it’s not difficult to travel. Keep our hands to the plow, and eventually, the harvest comes through.

I learned this while hunting Dall Sheep in Alaska. “It’s hard climbing the mountain to get to the territory of the sheep. It’s equally difficult coming off the mountaintop to the cabin by the pond below, where we will sleep and rest.” If you bag one, you may make several trips up and down until you stop and call it a success.

Climbing the Mountain is as hard as coming off the mountain.

Not every job is perfect, nor is every relationship. You put up with the feeling of imperfection because that’s how life is. Hard work does not always produce the results you expect. Sometimes there’s the luck of the draw or the ease of the moment that lets you win sooner than you thought impossible. Other times? It takes longer.

To make it to heaven, you have to live through this life.

It’s All About Patience, Perseverance, and Perspective

My attitude is always looking for the silver lining, waiting for better days, and not letting the slog of life get me down!

We’ve developed mottos and slogans to help us focus forward. One of the popular ones is:

Winners never Quit, and Quitters never Win.

Think about it like this. Is this the truth? I propose that it’s only partially correct. Winners will quit the things that hold them back. Bad habits. Attitudes. Negative spirits. Yes, sometimes you separate yourself from people and events weighing you down! But if you quit? You’ll never win.

Ask yourself this question: What’s holding me back? What’s worth quitting so I can have a winning attitude? Others may have an idea for you, but the real question is for you to answer yourself!

The unknown writer of the book of Hebrews speaks honestly about the winner’s life after he spent a chapter talking about faith.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
(Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV)

We have examples of how to live a Faithful life (Hebrews 11). Lay aside everything that hinders and ensnares. Run with endurance (perseverance). Keep your eye on the place beyond. The Lord is our best example and our goal in life.