Lent Day 44

Confidence.  Confidence comes from experiencing success and gaining a subsequent belief in the likelihood of continued success.  Repeated success increases confidence.  Successful completion of increasingly difficult tasks increases one’s confidence level correspondingly.  This is true in any application.

Tonight we had tee ball and baseball games at opposite ends of the ball park.  They could not put the boys any further apart.  Since the games were simultaneous, I ran to see the opposite game.  I literally ran the entire way without getting winded or hesitating in my ability to make it without walking or stopping.  I have no doubt that I can easily run a couple of miles without stopping.  Fortunately it is not very often that someone is chasing me, but if there ever is . . . I’ll be able to run.

I went running when we got home tonight which was after dark.  Normally I do not like running after dark down these wooded dirt roads.  The last couple of nights have been exceptionally dark since there has been no moon.  I decided to go run on the road anyway, but I brought two small powerful flashlights.  I realized that I did not need them by the time my eyes adjusted to the dimness once I got away from the house.  Of course, that object on the side of the road that looked like either a person or a large bear coming at me made me jump back and frightened me . . . until I turned on the flashlight and realized it was a rapidly approaching mailbox.  After that, I never turned the flashlights on again.  Simply having the flashlights with me gave me the confidence to run in the dark.  The pen and sword may be mighty weapons, but a flashlight can stop any mailbox.

Having God on my side gives me confidence.  The more I listen to God and build my relationship with Him, the more confident I am that I can accomplish anything with Him.  Problems can be resolved and successes will be attained.  I have given myself to God through Lent for the past few years.  With this dedication and commitment, I have grown increasingly more confident in my ability to do whatever God has in store for me.   

There was one fascinating thing about tonight’s run.  I don’t think I have ever seen so many lightning bugs in my life.  It was a grand, bug powered fireworks show all along the road.  There were so many of them that I almost ate two of them; I don’t think one of them survived the venture into my mouth.  It almost made my teeth glow.  Maybe that was practice for the coming hiking trip in the mountains.