According to the book The Traveler’s Gift and a companion book by Andy Andrews called Mastering the Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success, there are seven big time choices that you and I can make that will greatly impact the course of our lives. One of them is the decision to persist. Here at Stoneybrooke we call that character trait, perseverance.

To help illustrate that quality, consider a story Andy Andrews tells about the Aboriginal rainmakers. All of the tribes do some rain dancing, but apparently there is one particular tribe known for always making it rain. No exceptions.

“When white communities were in trouble due to drought, they began to call this particular tribe to do their rain dance. On one such occasion, the leader of the white community went to the king of this renowned group and said, ‘Why is it that every time you dance, it rains.’ The king replied, ‘It is very simple, actually. We dance til it rains.'”

“We dance til it rains.” What a great concept!

This is perseverance in action. Around our school, we define perseverance this way: “Being willing to stay at my task or assignment until I have finished it with pride.” The apostle Paul might put it another way and say, “Never tire of doing good” (II Thess. 3:13) or “Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord” (I Cor. 15:58).

Our culture seems much more adept at avoiding, ignoring, postponing and delegating than persevering. We like to do the easy stuff and avoid the tough stuff. We avoid confrontations until they are biggies. We slide by decisions that cost us something. We drag our feet through difficult assignments. We multitask so much that often the “main thing” is no longer the “main thing.” It becomes the avoided thing.

Maybe this week is a good time to stop and take a good long look at our work environment. It might be your kitchen, or your garage, or a corner office with a beautiful desk, but look around. What needs doing? What project should we finish? What conversation needs to take place? What can we complete with a great heart attitude.

It might be a good time to keep on dancing until it rains!

By His Grace and for His Glory,
Sherry L. Worel