Let Someone Know, I See You Trying

​I am leading a training this week with my two friends and forever colleagues Michelle and Amy. We had dinner together last night, and Amy told us something she'd recently heard a young person say. It's got me reflecting.

The young person said, "God loves effort."

It's got me thinking; I don't think we value enough the effort of those around us. Mainly because we don't take the time to deeply enough come to know and feel their effort.

When you spend considerable time with the broken, you quickly stop seeing their brokenness and start feeling their efforts toward healing. You begin to feel the pain and the struggle, and also - the effort of that next step forward.

That next step toward healing.

How often do we judge the clothes one is wearing without wondering just how much effort it might have taken to simply get dressed today?

How often do we judge the poor without an ounce of understanding how hard they are working to not be so? For I can assure you that wealth is at times on the other end of little effort, and poverty at times at the other end of relentless effort to escape it.

How often do we judge the addict as one who is not strong enough or wise enough to leave behind their addiction without ever fully knowing - feeling - the efforts and struggles that have gone into countless days of efforting to do so.

Jesus once said, "come to me all who are weary and burdened." I wonder if that's because Jesus longs for us to know he sees our efforts. I wonder if that's because Jesus longs to HONOR them.

I think we as a world are good at recognizing achievements. Success. But I am wondering this morning, how good are we at letting one another know, "I see how hard you are trying."

Effort doesn't often make for great headlines. But I am grateful to have heard countless effort stories throughout my years that make many headlines pale by comparison.

I have told my boys, I don't know where or when or what the finish line of my life looks like. But I know this. It is my desire that when it arrives the two of them will look at me there and say - he never stopped trying.

So I want you to know, if you are out there trying today - I see you. I honor you. If at the end of your day, like has been the case at the end of many of mine, all you can say is, "I tried," I want you to know - that is more than enough.

SO MUCH more than enough.

And maybe today, as we finish this week, you'll see someone who many not be there yet, but is surely trying to do so. Let them know - "I see your effort."

Let them know - it counts.

It counts A LOT.

Effort can get lost in the grand sea of perfection. Let's make sure it doesn't. For it's possible that God sees effort as the grandest sea of them all.