Several years ago, I took this photo on a hike in the Dolly Sods wilderness area. Somewhere on the Red Creek, a small seedling took root in the middle of the current, tenacious and determined to grow. I’ve always wanted to go back and see if this little tree made it…

It’s unlikely, since the area floods during spring storms. But I’d like to think it made it through a few more seasons. I’m a believer in the power of persistence!

Persistence helps us through the unknowns. The doubts. The unanswered questions.

Persistence is how we power through hard tasks and establish new habits. it’s the fuel for enduring refining, growth and change.

Persistence was why I pushed through rehab after my knee surgery. It’s the way I tackle a new skill or perfect an old one. It’s the way I kick-butt past my excuses. And when I am ready to give up, it’s the encouragement and support of friends and family that help me try it just one… more… time…

In The Christian tradition, persistence is part of the way we live out our faith. We stand in the “now and not yet” of the Resurrection. Somehow, we hang on to the promises of the Eternal despite all of the rational, logical arguments against it.

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:12-13 NRSV

I am filled with more questions and answers, more hurts than healing. Yet somehow the loving Presence of Christ invites a time of waiting. Abiding. Resting. Persevering.

And for today, that is enough.

Amen.