Last weekend I had the wonderful privilege to attend a pastor’s wives retreat and just absorb it all! That’s right, every lady attending did not have to do a thing…did not have to organize a planning team, make sure every detail was covered, call the speaker, order the food, advertise, speak or execute any other part of the weekend. All we needed to do is pack and get there! It was wonderful! And absorb I did!

Hopefully, you know this… Pastor’s wives are a rare but normal breed in every way. Rare in that people may expect more from them than, say, their best friend. But normal in the sense that they are just that…regular girls with the same wants, needs, desires and issues as every other woman. I say all this because sometimes I tend to expect more from myself than God even does… And this is where we girls get tripped up! We know we put our pantyhose on one leg at a time just like every other woman…well, we used to…not too many where pantyhose anymore, not in So Cal anyway, but you get the picture!

So back to the weekend… The keynote speaker brought a picture of Olympic swimming champion, Michael Phelps, to our attention. He is the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 gold medals. And here is his very simple secret, he kept his eye on the prize! Here is a picture of him winning that last gold medal before his pending retirement…

Notice how fixed Michael’s eyes are on the goal, the prize as it were…and then notice ‘Green Cap Guy.’ His eyes are on Michael, and he lost the race. Thus, knowing the secret, Michael won 28 medals during his 16-year Olympic career! The illustration is simple, but the lesson learned is quite clear… If we are going to reach the goal God has for us, we have to run (or swim as it were) our own race and keep our eyes on The Prize, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.

—Proverbs 4:25

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 —Hebrews 12:2

I don’t want to go through this life as ‘Green Cap Guy!’ …No way, no how! So the question I have to ask myself often (and I’m guessing you do too) is, “What is the race God has for me?” Hopefully, if we have not defined it yet, we soon will, and as another Dori…aka Dory…would say, “Just keep swimming!”