It's a marathon

I look back and wonder, "what was I thinking?!" Somehow in raising my three girls and being involved in girls' ministry I thought is was going to be about an eight or ten year process. Now I am thinking this could be more along the lines of a marathon, not 26 miles, but 26 years!

It really is a 24/7 commitment. So much of the girls' ministry I'm involved in is outside of the official programs of my church. I'm finding that more and more girls' ministry for me happens at the gym, at school, ball games, and in my kitchen. It is wherever girls are. And I'm sure the same is true for you.

As I've been pondering the past few years and the years to come, I keep wondering if I am really up for it. This is going to be a haul if I stick with these girls...my girls and all their friends. I keep thinking about marathon training, and I am NOT a runner of any kind.

In the marathon of the Christian life and Christian ministry there are a variety of competitors. Some are like jack rabbits; they start off strong and fast, but burn out quickly. There are those who spend too much time talking and laughing with the other participants. For them, it is just one big party and after awhile, they lose sight of actually ever finishing the race. Others spend their race focusing on the cramp in their foot, the ailment in their hip, last year's injury that still hasn't healed properly. Their focus becomes the problem of the moment rather than the finish line.

Others get so caught up in their sportswear and how they look that they forget there is a race to run. There are the overly competitive who are too concerned with how everyone else is racing. They spend all of their time and energy watching those around them, measuring themselves against their competition...their goal becomes more about others than attaining the prize for themselves. When was the last time you compared your girls' ministry with someone else's ministry?

The super athletic, the elite performers...everyone has an eye on them. (The mega church ministries maybe?) Yet, they can mistakenly make the race all about working and performing in their own strength and by the power of their resources. Unfortunately, in the marathon of the Christian life, hard work ethic or lots of money or resources just doesn't cut it. 

So, in the end, which competitors cross the finish line and attain the prize?

It's those that adequately prepared and trained by getting up day after day, consistently putting in hours of training...not because they wanted to beat everyone else, but because they were looking forward to running the race and into the arms of their Savior. It's those that were encouraged along the way by the cheers of their friends, yet didn't get sidetracked by their friends. It's those who kept their focus on Christ and not on the cramps and ailments--tempted...but did not quit for the temporary comfort. Their eyes were on the Eternal One.

It is those that buckled down and endured the torturous hills, knowing the One to be gained in pain was most worthy of the cost. It is those who weren't afraid to go it alone because they knew that the prize at the finish was better than any temporal fellowship they might have along the way. It is those who haven't poured all their resources into what is wasting away; but instead, focused on the unseen imperishables. It is those that don't pridefully try to do it on their own, but realize the power is really in their weakness. Letting go of their own ability, their Father infuses them with His strength and carries them across the finish line.

Girls' ministry really is like a marathon. It is 24/7 and it may take us 26 years or longer as we invest in the lives of girls and young women. But like the marathon runners who finally cross the finish line, this girls' ministry marathon is going to be worth it.  

Where is your girls' ministry? What kind of competitor are you?