Excuses: Is there a lion lurking outside your door?

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(An excerpt from "The EveryDay: 366 Real Stories for Real People" by Rebekah Trittipoe)

It is 8:30 p.m., darkness has arrived, and I am sitting here on the couch having a conversation with myself. I did not run today, nor did I yesterday or the day before. I had been doing so well with consistency; six to seven runs each week. What is happening? Yes, my morning routine was messed up because I was Addyson’s taxi back to her mom. Then it was pressing work on a writing project, a phone call, volleyball practice, and prep for a meeting tomorrow. Then home, clean up the kitchen, unload the dishwasher, prepare supper, clean up, and head to Wal-Mart for needed items. And oh, yes, it is thundering and promising to downpour outside. How could I possibly squeeze in a run?

Sounds like lame excuses to me. I should know. I excuse-make a lot! After I come up with the excuse, I rationalize away my decision to appease the inevitable guilt I feel. What a sorry mess I am! 

Recently, I read a story about Lou Gehrig. Though many associate his name with the disease, back in the day he was well-known as a New York Yankee. It is reported that his initial role on the team was as a back-up fi rst baseman to a guy named Wally Pipp. When ol’ Wally got sick, Gehrig covered the base. He played so well that Pipp never regained the starting position. But get this, despite seventeen hand fractures during his career, Gehrig never missed playing in a game for thirteen straight years. That comes down to 2,130 games! Who does that? Well, not many, that’s for sure. What an amazing ability to find a way despite the challenges. No excuse—valid or not—kept him from the mission.

Reading that fun fact confirms I am a wimp. It is so easy to make an excuse of why I did or did not do something. I may even give great lip service to its importance, but when it comes down to it, I back out. I read in Proverbs an interesting verse describing someone so lazy that he claims a lion waits outside to devour him. Hence, he has no recourse but to stay inside the walls of his home. Lest I scoff at that fella, I am challenged to examine my own lame reasons for not running, not taking time to read, ignoring prayer, or neglecting relationships. Shame on me. I best finish this story and get in a workout before it gets any later than it is. 

         Today’s Truth: The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets.”        (Proverbs 22:13 )



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