Field Report #013

 40-Day Challenge Report: Day 8

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:9-10

The likelihood of success for this challenge has just taken a blow - I've now used up my cushion in the practice of the Rhythm of the Daily Office, falling asleep again before the final prayer hour of the day. That means I need to go 33 days straight, without missing a day, to pull it off.

Well, I wanted it to be challenging! This is going to be a serious test of consistency. It is tempting to give up now because the probability of completion has become so low. But I know, from the first week of the challenge, that the effort is undeniably worthwhile. Now is not the time to grow weary, but to once again stay awake and not let the focus slip on Daily Office - for 33 days.

I feel a strong kinship with the disciples in the garden right now - the stakes are high, evil is crouching at the door, the labor grows tiresome - and my response is to fall asleep. 

Those disciples would then witness the resurrection of their Lord, and spend the rest of their lives exhorting the brethren to take refuge in the mercy of Christ, love one another, and stay awake for his return. 

Help us, dear Lord Jesus, to learn from our own mistakes and from the mistakes of those who came before us. Amen.