Another lesson in honor of the beginning of the cold high school practice season:

Hard work, even when it seems really pointless and as if you’re not getting anything done, is a necessary and beneficial discipline to acquire. I’ll never forget those days when it seemed that nothing was being accomplished by having practice. Frozen extremities make it somewhat difficult to take batting practice and field ground balls. Not being able to get on the field because of the mud forced us to use fake baseballs on the school parking lot. Days like that made it feel as if we were just wasting time. Why not just call practice off and come back when the weather was nicer?

I think only now am I beginning to understand the value of what we did on those miserable days of practice. Only now do I see the work ethic that was developed in me by having to practice when it was cold, snowy, and nasty outside. Only now do I get how much I needed to learn those lessons then. Getting up and going to work everyday isn’t always fun. There are plenty of other things you might rather do. There are times when you may feel what you do is pointless or cannot possibly have redeeming value. It’s on those days–just like having practice in the parking lot–when you need to push through it, work hard, and do all you do to the best of your ability.

The biblical backing for this is simple. Colossians 3:23-24. “Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord–you serve the Lord Christ.”

Today may feel like you’re trying to play baseball with frozen fingers and toes, but the way you approach it matters to God. Through the power of Jesus Christ, it can be approached enthusiastically, as if God alone is your audience. Go after it today. In your work, school, or home, no matter what you do, approach it to please Jesus alone. Watch your attitude and work ethic change. Watch Jesus live through you, even on a cold, muddy field.