What Are You Working For?

Hard-work. If you ask someone their definition of hard-work, you are likely to get a very different definition than your own. One might say hard-work consists of manual labor, long hours, and dedication. Another might say hard work requires relentless effort, laser like focus, and determination. No matter the definition, I think all can agree that hard work should push you to give what my coaches used to say 110%. That extra effort that separates you from the rest.

You get back what you put in. Not a new statement. Most have heard it at some point in their life. 

In school my focus was on academics as well as sports. I come from a family whose mother and father are the epitome of hard-work. Their hard-work differs, just like those above definitions, but both posses a strength that the other doesn’t have, which in turn compliments the other. And if you ask me that is the way it is supposed to be.

I worked hard. My goal was to be defined as a hard worker who achieved success in school and on the field. I earned awards that I had longed for and wanted desperately. Awards that meant I had succeeded in my hard work. Awards that now sit in a box packed up with all my other high school memories.

Do I regret the time spent try to achieve this goal that means little in my life at this moment in time? No. I don’t.
Because I’ve found each experience, good or bad is a lesson. One that I can learn from, grow from, and be proud of.

Now my life consists mostly of raising my children, so how does all that time spent pursuing good grades and striving for excellence help me now?

The same as it did then. I’ve found that hard work brings about rewards. Though those rewards might not be tangible, they are rewards nonetheless. And I dare say that they are some of the sweetest rewards I will ever get.

One thing I know now that I didn’t know back then was that my hard-work had a purpose, other than just being a good student and athlete. My hard-work brings about glory for my Father in Heaven. And that makes it all worthwhile.

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,” Colossians‬ 3:23

With love, 

Tori