The Race

When everything is said and done, what will you have accomplished that is truly exemplary? When you reach the Finish Line of life, what accolades will be awaiting you? Could it be that there is an enemy running alongside of us trying to trip us up or lead us down the wrong path?
A story is told of two paddleboats that left Memphis at the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they were traveling side by side, words were exchanged, competition flared, and the two boats began racing to see who could reach their destination first. One of the boats began falling behind because it was running short of fuel. There had been plenty brought aboard for the entire journey, but not enough once they began to race! As the boat fell back, the captain took some of the ship’s cargo and tossed it into the furnace. The response was immediate—the little boat picked up speed. The captain proceeded to fuel his boat with the material he had been assigned to transport down to New Orleans. He ended up winning the race, but burned up his cargo!

Could it be that we have fallen into the same trap when it comes to family responsibilities? One husband, out to prove his love for his new wife, swam the deepest river, crossed the widest desert and climbed the highest mountain. Unfortunately, she divorced him because he was never home! Too many of us get caught up in the rat race of life, striving to see, do and conquer more than any who have come before us. As a result, we often lose sight of the precious cargo that is right before us—our families! How many times have they been sacrificed in the quest for something truly amazing that winds up being only superficial and temporary?

Garden Ridge is a church that believes in the priority of developing healthy families according to the will and plan of God. With this in mind, the elders have seen to it that there are several tools in place to assist families in a variety of areas to challenge them and help them maintain proper priorities in all areas of family life. Programs such as Financial Peace, Dynamic Marriage, and Celebrate/Recovery are incredible tools for developing healthier families! “What are these”, and “How can they help me”, you ask? Consider the following:

Financial Peace University is a 91-day program designed to help couples learn how to pay off debt and build financial security through training and accountability. Several couples have already participated in this program and have paid off vast amounts of debt as well as started savings plans that have helped them become more responsible financially, and less stressed out emotionally.

Dynamic Marriage is an 8-week interactive marriage program in which the participants learn the plan of God for marriage and how to fulfill the roles He has designed husbands and wives to play. It is a communication training exercise in which couples learn how to speak love to one another in a way they will hear, and meet one another’s needs so they grow in intimacy.

Celebrate/Recovery is a Bible based recovery program designed to help people find and experience God’s healing power in whatever areas are stripping this away. This would include areas such as: overworking, divorce, food addiction, overspending, physical and/or sexual abuse, lying, perfectionism, fear and/or anxiety, sexual addiction, guilt, eating disorders, grief, hurtful relationships, rejection; control issues, insecurity, anger, gambling, alcohol and/or drugs, and co-dependency. In other words, this is a training, fellowship and accountability program for dealing with destructive behaviors or hurts that can adversely affect one’s family life.

Interestingly, as my mom used to say, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” Good programs are not worth much if, like the paddle-boat captain, we forget what our mission is and get caught up in some other task or pursuit that actually destroys the core of what we are. Remember what will truly last and set your sights on achieving that so there will be no heartache at the end of the race!

-Scott