Well, it’s officially fall! How is that possible? I realized by the huge stacks of paper that we are well into the school year. My kids are no longer looking sparkly and fresh each day. Gone are the fresh eggs and pancakes each morning. (Who am I kidding? That never happened!) We are in the GRIND! The newness has officially worn off, and I am already #overit. Can anybody relate??

I have been reminded recently that our Christian walk is not much different. Whether we realize it or not, we are in a daily grind spiritually. Although we go through seasons of newness, peaks and valleys, and mountain tops, more often than not, we are in this constant grind. For most of us, this is where we will spend the majority of our lives, and it can be the hardest. I am not talking about having a routine, boring relationship with the LORD. That should never be the case! I am talking about the day in, day out of our time on earth, where life happens. It’s here where we may be in the waiting season, where we are not hyped up on feelings, where we just have to DO the thing, sometimes in the face of adversity. It’s here where we exercise those spiritual muscles, practice the spiritual disciplines over and over, even though we don’t “feel” like it’s going to serve a purpose. It’s in this daily grind where we obey Him, even if we don’t know why. (Think Noah building the ark! Can you imagine what those days were like?)

I had the privilege of attending a Beth Moore workshop several months ago. She brought up the word GRIT and said, “for whatever use your talents are, effort counts twice.” And I can’t help but think that principle can spill over into our daily walks with the LORD. Yes, we don’t have to do anything for His love, but, wow, in our day to day lives, it can be so easy to drift away. A relationship requires effort, especially when we have an enemy who is out to knock us down. We may not be called to ministry, but we are ALL called to walk with the LORD and serve in our own sphere of influence, whether that is as a mom, wife, sister, or friend. And that takes grit living in the world we do. It takes determination to set aside time with Him in the midst of the busyness. It takes discipline to develop a prayer life and to KEEP IT. It takes effort to find a community of other believers and put yourself out there. It takes intentionality to hit the reset button periodically and reevaluate our priorities before Him. And it takes humility to remember that we can’t do any of this without Him. The list could go on and on. I would say that takes grit no matter who you are!!

And be encouraged that although it might seem like today doesn’t matter that much, it may matter a whole lot more than we think. Because He is preparing us for something tomorrow in today’s daily grind. We just can’t see it yet.

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14, ESV)

Let’s go into this week ready to Grit and Grind for Jesus!! 🙂

Natalie