Called To Endure

Endurance. It's not a word this culture readily embraces. Researchers have coined the words grit, sweat equity, and stick-with-it-ness in the past five years in search of a way to communicate to a new generation--a microwaveable, give-it-to-me-now, viral, instant, digital, fast-paced generation--that they are finding the most successful people in life have this quality.  The most successful people in our world today practice what the Bible has defined for centuries as endurance.

"We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful." James 5:11

To choose to live your life as a Jesus-follower, a Bible-believing Christian, is to embrace the idea and concept and commitment to the character quality of endurance. (Hebrews 12:1--It's a marathon mindset.) And character qualities require years of character development through circumstances, situations, highs, and lows.  If you're trying on Christianity as a trend, fad, quick fix, or just something your friends are doing, I'm afraid you might be sorely disappointed, so please don't become a hater if you're not even going to stick it out through the end of high school, college, etc. to see what Jesus is really all about.

Because the best part about being a Christian is a personal relationship with your Creator, the Father who formed you in your mother's womb, numbered every hair on your head, and wrote out all your days before your parents were even thinking about having a family. (Psalm 139, Luke 12:7) As a Christian, you get to wake up every day with a purpose, a purpose that matters for all eternity (Matthew 5:13-16, 2 Corinthians 5:20), but it doesn't come packaged in ribbons and bows, most days aren't shiny and new. To be a Christian isn't a life of living the highlights reel or basking in the glory days.

Because if life hasn't taught you this yet, it will: life is hard.  Like pain, tears, grief, disappointment, frustration, anger, hatred, discontent--HARD (John 16:33). And if you want to be victorious and live a life of freedom and joy, then you need Jesus, and He's pretty clear on what that means: take up your cross and follow Him (Psalm 16:11, John 14:6, Matthew 16:24-26). Endure the journey, but keep your head up because you get to enjoy your best life in the process of that journey.

"Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:3-4

Perfect. Complete. Lacking in nothing.  Those are some pretty strong promises.  Perfection, wholeness, worthiness--things people in this life try to attain in their own strength their entire lives.  These promises are the RESULT of the endurance of your faith. You never get results without first putting in the work. Try to short-cut your way around it all you want, but at the end of the day, consistent, balanced, committed people will always succeed where the spontaneous, overly-passionate, on-to-the-next-big-idea people will fail. I'm not saying spontaneity, passion, and innovation don't have their place, but endurance is a long-term investment, an eternal investment.

"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised." Hebrews 10:36

Endurance is defined as permanence or duration; something that sticks around for a while, stands the test of time. The ability to withstand hardship or adversity.  The ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity. Please notice something about the words in this definition...

Permanence. Withstand. Sustain. These words point to a strength of staying, holding ground.  These words don't speak of movement, change, or even growth of any kind. Endurance is the character quality you need to live your best life in Christ in any circumstance. 

So what does endurance look like on a day-to-day basis? It's actually rather simple or "boring" maybe.  Read your Bible (Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16-17).  Seek the Lord daily (1 Chronicles 16:11).  Put what you read into practice in even the smallest tasks (Colossians 3:23). Trust Jesus to help you live each day to it's fullest potential by believing that, no matter the circumstances--good, bad, or uneventful-- you will live out the days of of your life like you are known, seen, heard, and loved--never alone (1 Corinthians 8:3, 1 Peter 3:12, Hebrews 13:5).  Share that belief with anyone that crosses your path in big, but most likely small gestures, like a smile, eye contact, and taking time to talk to people (John 15:12).

           This is not rocket science I'm talking about here. This isn't big earth-shattering revelations or life-altering mission work. This is the Christian walk of endurance--putting what you believe to be true into practice in simple ways in a world that is desperately wanting to believe what you're living-- the joy you will share along the journey (in good times and bad-Nehemiah 8:10), the love you will spread generously (in good times and bad-1 Corinthians 13)--people want to believe that this kind of life is the real deal. That it will last.  That it will stay.  That it will stand the test of time. That it will endure.

If you know yourself to be a child of God, then you are the one tasked with showing the world that it will.

"Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”— 3 giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, 4 but in everything commending ourselves as [a]servants of God, in MUCH endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, 5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, 6 in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, 7 in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, 8 by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; 9 as unknown [b]yet well-known, as dying [c]yet behold, we live; as [d]punished [e]yet not put to death, 10 as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing [f]yet possessing all things." 2 Corinthians 6:2b-10

You don't like the circumstances of your life? Seek the Lord, love others, endure.

You don't want to wait around any more? Seek the Lord, love others, endure.

You don't understand why God is silent for the moment? Seek the Lord anyway, love others, endure.

You don't feel God is there for you? Seek Him anyway, love others, and endure in your faith.

Your life is awesome, contented, and balanced? Great! Don't fall into the temptation to stop seeking the Lord. Keep loving others. Faithfully practice endurance in the good and the bad.

I've worked out with a personal trainer twice a week for a year now.  I've diligently trained for and completed three triathlons. I've changed my diet to include more water, more fruit, more veggies, less carbs, better proteins. Consistently.  For a year..... I've lost inches, but not. one. single. pound.

You see, I've gotten stronger. A whole lot stronger. I started the year repping 10lbs on the triceps press, and now I can do 35lbs. The burden and weight of this body I walk around in hasn't changed one pound, but I'm stronger, so I can lift more, run faster, and work harder for longer. 

Because living life with endurance doesn't make your burdens lighter or life easier, it makes you STRONGER to be able to WITHSTAND and SUSTAIN and STAY when life throws it's worst at you, while everyone else is running ragged chasing the things that tickle their ears, aligning themselves with people who only tell them what they want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3). You, on the other hand, are reading your Bible, talking to God about every silly detail in your life, actively loving every person the Lord puts in your path for the day, capturing your thoughts to keep them focused on what is pleasing to Jesus, and you hold fast to the faith you've seen prove itself over and over again when times are full of blessings and when times are full of sorrows (2 Corinthians 10:5, Philippians 4:8 Hebrews 10:23). 

In between the highs and lows of life, you stay. You endure. Because more highs and lows will come, that's inevitable. But in between those highs and lows, did you get stronger? Or did you expend and waste all your energy chasing emptiness, false highs, and anything to satiate your addiction to entertainment of some kind?

I'm learning the value of actually enjoying the process of enduring. The value of the simple, the savoring, and the staying. 

"By your endurance you will gain your lives." Luke 21:19

Endure AND Enjoy: Christmas Letter 2017

Dear Family & Friends,                                                                                          December 2017

Well, 2017 is winding down, and I struggle a bit to write this letter this year. Why? Because I have nothing profound to share, to announce, or bemoan. 2017 has been a hard year and a good year. The Lord has shown up in so many highs and lows and plateaus with one consistent message, “Endure AND Enjoy!”

This year held travels to Death Valley, Mexico, the Grand Canyon, Ormond Beach, and several camping weekends as our family was blessed with the purchase of a camping trailer. One of our biggest blessings this year has been camping with our California people. The friendships that have deepened and grown here in this past year have been a true gift for which we are deeply grateful.

Weston turned eight in August. The change I’ve seen in him physically in a year makes my Mama heart cry. So many teeth lost and inches grown! He’s officially in love with soccer, and we’ve enjoyed watching his love of football increase. He’s bright and witty and all-boy. He still likes to hold my hand in public and snuggle on the couch for some TV watching, so for these small things, I’m deeply grateful. Both kids completed their first full year of piano lessons, and I continue to be blown away by how much they’ve improved and grown in a year’s time.

Savannah turned ten in October, and to say she’s blooming into a beautiful young girl is an understatement. She’s continued in her gymnastics this year, but also played soccer and water polo. She constantly amazes me with her natural abilities and the ease and flexibility with which she tackles life. As always, she loves every moment of everything, spreading joy and fun and light to anyone she manages to corral. I think I’m most proud of how she consistently reads her devotions in the morning. Both children continue to grow in their love and knowledge of Jesus, and it’s really of their own choosing which is both encouraging and challenging since consistency in my own time with the Lord is still an area I seem to constantly be seeking improvement!

Joey celebrated 40 this year and continues to love his job as a financial consultant for Chick-fil-A. I’m grateful for a husband whose integrity, perseverance, and commitment to his job translates equally to how he leads our home—constantly looking to improve, open to feedback, and never backing down from a hard conversation. I’ve watched the Lord use these skills along with many others as Joey felt led to join the school board of the new classical school God started in September of this year for our kids and 38 others. Choosing to invest in the founding of The Geneva School has been a true walk of faith and continues to be, but Joey has been a rock for me and our children in the process, and his willingness to serve and sacrifice time and energy to do what God has called us to do is admirable.

As for me, this year has been a test of endurance in so many areas of life. I trained for and completed three sprint triathlons, was blessed to lead a ministry team of high schoolers on a mission trip to Mexico, and I continue to be challenged and blessed through service in both the high school and women’s ministries at our church. When God opened our school in September, I also felt led to serve two days a week as a classroom aide, so to say the speed of life and the fullness of my days has increased would be an understatement.

But amid the busyness, I have also been deeply in tune with how the Lord is working in these areas of my life, calling me, preparing me to dig in, root deep, and endure. I’ve learned that endurance doesn’t necessarily produce growth or forward progression of any kind, but it does build strength of character because endurance is the ability and determination to stay, to stick-with-it, to be present and steadfast. Endurance holds you steady; it’s the quality that requires you stay the course. We live in a culture and a world where so many are constantly looking for the next challenge, the next high, the next accomplishment, the next opportunity, the next goal to attain, the next thing to check off their bucket list because there is a natural rush in attaining these good things. Aiming toward these things gives a sense of meaning and purpose, so when I found myself in a season where there was no five-year-plan or dream-big goal, I floundered for a bit.

Until I started recognizing the lesson in the floundering was that when I focused on being present today, in this moment, with this person, or this child, I wasn’t actually floundering anymore, I was living the biggest, most audacious dream of them all—to love others as Jesus loves me. To live this way doesn’t require a five-year plan, but it does require endurance to keep the faith and walk the path God has placed you on; it requires a commitment to staying with Jesus and in His Word and choosing to be in His presence no matter how hard or nonchalant or fulfilling a day may turn out to be. To endure is to stay.

Which doesn’t sound very fun or impressive, but about mid-year God pointed out that it’s not just about enduring, it’s also about enjoying. Enjoying the blessings of friendships and belly laughs and cooking club antics. Enjoying the gift of small hands holding mine and saying ‘yes’ to throwing the football and playing a board game and waking up together in our camper on a cool California morning. Enjoying the sunshine, crashing waves, and the blessing of good health. Enjoying even the tears shared with friends and the comfort only God can wrap you with in hard times. Enjoying long soccer practices, never-ending laundry, super-chill date nights, and spontaneous lunches with friends.

Be present as you endure, but be present to enjoy—this has been 2017.

Does this letter find you in a season of wandering, of annoying difficulties, or a string of everyday, run-of-the-mill moments? I challenge you to sit in these, to stay, to dig deep and endure all the while choosing to find the simple beauty and flashes of enjoyment that are there. We just need to learn to slow down long enough to actually acknowledge and enjoy the minutes of time, instead of spending all our energy striving to plan for the hours ahead.

This life is a marathon, my friends. We must learn to enjoy a steady pace because most of us aren’t built to sprint the entire way! Endurance isn’t a glamorous part of the journey, but it builds an unshakeable strength. Learning to enjoy, treasure, and appreciate the small things along the way is how you’re able to endure the act of enduranceJ

Colossians 1:10-14 “[T]hat you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

And Amen to that! Because therein lies the greatest Christmas Gift of all in the beginning of our redemption and rescue by the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ! May 2018 be a year filled with possibilities and joy for you and yours. May endurance hold you steady and enjoyment sprinkle the seconds of your days.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our home to yours!

Joey,  Jennifer,  Savannah & Weston Durham