"You're So Dedicated!" At least trying to be and want to be...

The other day when I hopped on my bike for a 15 mile ride, I heard some teen shout out these words to me as I passed by, "You're so dedicated!" It was quite surprising but very timely because it was hot and I was at about mile 11 and I had found myself slacking a bit. Hearing those words perked me up as thoughts of "how I try to be" raced in my mind. I picked up the pace of my peddling as I quickly looked back at the teen. I had seen this same teen at the beginning of my bike route and so, I guess when he saw me some 45 minutes later still peddling away, he just decided to bust out and say, "You're so dedicated!"

Naturally, my thoughts raced to the word "dedication" as I continued ride. I was actually trying to be just that...dedicated...dedicated to getting in a work out and dedicated to training for a triathlon. I was trying to be dedicated to keeping my body in some sort of decent physical shape. I was trying to be dedicated to doing something that would be healthy for me. I was trying to be dedicated to being a good steward of my physical side. Yep, I was trying.

As I thought of what it meant to be dedicated I thought of words with similar meanings such as devotion, faithfulness, commitment, loyalty, and perseverance. What great words - full of substance and quality! I definitely want to be these things and to have these qualities in all the meaningful areas of life. Dedicated to Jesus, dedicated to husband, dedicated to my calling as a mother, dedicated to my children, dedicated to my church, dedicated to my friends, dedicated to the ministry the Lord has called me to, dedicated to truth, dedicated to the gospel, dedicated to working hard in areas of homemaking and other service opportunities, dedicated to my elderly father, dedicated to my extended family, dedicated to seeking God through the disciplines of the Word, prayer, and fasting, dedicated to a life of education and learning, and dedicated to dying to self and carrying my cross.

I realize I cannot be dedicated to any of these things without the Lord extending His grace upon my life. As I think about the word dedication, I think my greatest comfort is that the Lord is actually dedicated to me in a way I cannot even fathom and desires to produce in me these things for His glory. In fact, I believe He wants to be able to shout out to all of His children at the finish line, "You've been so dedicated! Well done good and faithful child!"