What Does Your Best Look Like?
When I made a decision to go back to school a couple of years ago, I had no idea how it would pan out. It had been 30 years since I sat in a classroom and to say that I was less than an average student back in the day, is quite the understatement.
Fast forward 2.5 years later and no one is more astonished than me at the progress that I have made. Being a good student is important but honestly it isn’t something that I ever saw myself doing. In hindsight now, I’m wondering if my academic achievements are both a blessing and a curse?
It is definetly a blessing, at age 55 I am doing what I should have done years ago as a young person, without regret (or judgement), I am proving that it is never too late to accomplish something monumental.
While I am proud of the honors awarded me for being a good student, I also wonder if my academic success is a curse? After 2.5 years of success, it now seems to be something expected of me. After receiving a recent award, someone commented and said, “We all expected it, we are not surprised.” Someone else just rolls their eyes when I do well and sarcastically remarks, “Of course you did”. Where has the value of doing our best gone when society treats doing good as not such a good thing after all?
Achievements don’t come easy. The phrase “practice makes perfect” is a foolish one. Practicing can make improvements but nothing or no one is perfect. No matter how smart or how pretty or how talented anyone becomes, there will always be someone smarter, someone prettier and someone more talented. I never claimed to be smart, but I do claim to be a child of a King Who is the only perfect One. All that I do, all that I strive to be, is because of Him!
“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. ” (Galatians 1:10)
We should all be trying to do our very best. Not to try to impress others but because God gave His very best to us and in return, we should give our very best back to Him. I’m not getting good grades in college to impress anyone, while recognition is appreciated, it is not a requirement for me to do my best. The only requirement to do my best is because I want to be found to be a good and faithful servant of the Lord. I want God to be proud of me so I strive each day to give Him my best.
How about you, what does your best look like?
BLESSINGS. Laurie
@copyright2019 laurieadams
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I think it is awesome that you went back to school, and that you are doing well. You are right though; I don’t do my best to impress people. In my new position, everyone is always amazed that I get my job done right. I always tell them, that I am just doing my job.
What a testimony to do what is right and do it consistently! To show God enables, that He cares about the details of our lives
Praise God for what He is doing in you both.
Good question! I can identify with your chagrin when you won an award (congratulations) and folks said they “expected” it. I try to remember daily that I am living for an audience of One. I can easily get off course and enjoy the praise of men, but the only Man I need to please is our Lord.
I am impressed with your success. It’s not easy going back to school. I went to graduate school 20 years after I got my B.A. And I really enjoy having older students in my literature classes. Their lived experience adds so much to the class discussions!