“54” Resolution

Well, here we are four days into the New Year and I am finally getting around to talking about my New Years resolutions. It is funny because I have already heard many different things about resolutions and a lot those things are very interesting. I’ve tried to take at least a little time to think about it and here is what I have come up with – “54” Resolution.
Now as you can see the number 54 is in quotations. For those of you that know me or have simply taken the time read any of my posts, you will notice that I am not the writing type. However, I put the number in quotations because I don’t actually have 54 resolutions. Here let me explain.
When I was in high school I played the beloved game of basketball. Our team was pretty good and most of that came from the fact that we had great coaching. And one of the ways our coach would prepare us was conditioning. And to me that means lots of running which is a dirty word. I loved Coach Grantham and still do. He was close to 60 years old back then and had been coaching for a long time. He had this particular “weapon” of choice when it came to running (there’s that word again) and it felt like he loved to use it. The weapon was called; you guessed it, a “54”. A “54” was a running drill from that other place. You started on the baseline (which is another word that frightens me a little even till this day) because that was the starting place of most running events. Anyway, you started on the baseline underneath one basket and ran all the way to the other end, all 94ft; and then you would run back, backwards. (My chest is getting heavy just typing this.) You had to do this 4 times in 54 seconds. The first couple of times I did it I was just fine, but after the 8th, 9th, and 10th time I was NOT fine. I can still hear coaches voice in my head, “pick it up Maxwell!” Now, for those of you that know me, you know that I am a “Double X” man. So like I said, running has the potential to be a bad word for me.
As I think back on running “54’s” I also remember getting to the fourth quarter of games and still having the stamina to play hard, to keep my hands up on defense and calling for the ball inside, to call out screens, to rebound, to take a charge, and most of all - to just keep moving my feet. I say that because I later came to realize that coach knew I wouldn’t make every “54” in 54 seconds, but he wanted me to give it my all and not give up. He knew the benefits of staying in the “race”. And that is what I am resolved to do this year. As Dory in “Finding Nemo” would say, “just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just…” you get the picture.
I know I need to loose a little weight, stop doing this and do that a little more. Those are the same things I needed to do last year with some added and some completed. I just want to stay in it. I don’t want to stop running. I want to put one foot in front of the other and see what exciting things God has planned for me and my family this year. I want to run today like it is my last day to run before the finish line is upon me. Don’t get me wrong, I look forward to many more days of running in this way. You see the prize I am running for is waiting for me at the finish line. It is cool to know you will get the prize if you just finish the race. And to finish you must simply keep running. The apostle Paul says, “25All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.” I want to keep working toward the day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me to be (Phil 3:12). And because of the hills and valleys I have to run, sometimes it reminds me of running “54’s”. However, for the prize of heaven I am more than willing to run.
If you finished this, thanks for sticking it out. I pray that you have a blessed New Year and if nothing else; just keep running the race. See you at the finish line when we get our prizes.