A Devotional
by Rebecca Waters
June 7, 2022
Photo by Benjamin Huggett on Unsplash

In the Bible, Paul talks about staying the course, running the good race. He writes to Timothy, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” He doesn’t speak of “winning.” He speaks of “finishing.” (2 Timothy 4:7) In Hebrews 12, he writes, “…and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

I’ve been thinking about these verses for some time. Over seven years ago, my husband of forty-three years died from injuries he sustained in a bicycle accident. Losing Tom was the hardest thing I ever faced in life. Yet even in the early days after his death, we could see clearly it was his time. He had finished his race. He fought the good fight.

After Tom died, I was sure I would soon follow. It wasn’t something I dreaded. It was simply I saw my life so entwined with his, I imagined I was next. Yet here I am, still in the race. I plug along. I’m a writer. Writing a novel is often a challenge. I have to stay the course. It would be easy to give up. There are days when I am not actually writing. These are days of preparation and research. Many times, I spend hours writing only to discard most of it the next day. But this is my calling. This is what God has gifted me to do. It is my course.  Run the race. Finish the course. Fight the good fight.

I write in hopes of making a difference in someone else’s life. I keep the faith. One day, I will finish the book I am currently crafting. One day I will finish this life.

And as in most things of value we pursue… Finishing Is Winning.

ღ About Rebecca Waters ღ

Rebecca Waters is an author, writing coach, speaker, and teacher. Her latest release, Writing to Publish, includes sections on developing good habits for success in writing, how to design a business plan for your writing, and marketing tools to create and/or implement even before your first book is released. Rebecca is the author of Breathing on Her Own and Libby’s Cuppa Joe. Her novella, Courtesy Turn, appeared in the anthology, From the Lake to the River. Rebecca has also published several stories in the popular Chicken Soup for the Soulbooks. To follow Rebecca on Twitter, use @WatersAuthor. To learn more about Rebecca or to read her weekly blog, visit www.WatersWords.com.

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