by Lynn Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn 

I got home from the gym the other day, and I felt great. Well, I didn’t feel great physically. It took me an hour to stop sweating enough so I could take a shower.

But mentally? I felt great!

Why?

Because that workout was the kind of workout I wanted to skip.

Because burpees.

Burpees are my nemesis.

This workout had 60 of them. With 60 wallballs thrown in for good measure.

The only silver lining was the 13-minute time cap. A guarantee that the misery would end. When I walked in, I honestly didn’t expect to finish. But I did with time to spare.

When I got home and my husband asked me how it went my response was, “Good! I finished!”

I felt pretty good about that all day. And then I messed up.

I looked at the whiteboard. The whiteboard is where everyone’s results are posted and I realized that some of my friends had not only completed the workout in significantly less time than I had, a whole bunch of them had done a much harder version!

My result didn’t seem so good anymore. In fact, it stunk. I’ve been doing CrossFit for a while and I still struggle with burpees. I bet the coaches see me coming and think, “We don’t know why she’s still so bad at this.”

Thankfully, this crazy train of thought didn’t last long, because as I was scrolling through the results, I saw where one friend had made this note on her time: “I showed up.”

Indeed. So had I. And that was the point.

The whiteboard isn’t intended to make anyone feel bad. It’s a record of your results, not so you can compare with everyone else but so you can compare yourself with yourself.  So you can see your progress on your journey. Of course there’s room for some friendly competition, and that’s fine and healthy. But ultimately, when I walk into the gym, the only person I’m in competition with is myself.

Despite my ranking when compared to everyone else, I had left it all in the gym that morning. I went hard. I pushed myself. I had nothing to be ashamed of because I did the best workout I could do.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I do this in other areas of my life. Maybe you do to?

• We’re pretty happy with the exercise we got this week until we see *that* mom at the pool. You know the one? Yeah, you do. We eye her from behind our sunglasses and determine to drink more water, eat less chocolate, and workout every day for the rest of the year.
• We think we married a pretty good guy until we find out our neighbor’s husband comes home every day by five. Or he just got another promotion. Or he brings her flowers every week.
• We’re excited about the book we wrote until it doesn’t final in the contest.  Or the agent doesn’t offer representation. Or the publisher says they aren’t interested. And three of your friends signed contracts last month.

We need to remember that what we see as “perfect” might not seem so perfect if we knew all the details. What seems to be coming easily to someone probably isn’t. But even if that writer you think has it all together really does, we must remember this:

It’s not a competition.

One of my favorite verses is Colossians 4:17. As Paul is wrapping up his epistle, he has this to say, “And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you fulfill it.”

Do you see it? Do you see the freedom here?

Take heed to the ministry which you have received. Do that.

Your story will not read like anyone else’s. It’s uniquely yours.

That competition you think you’re in? It’s not with anyone else. It’s not even a competition.

It’s a calling.

Your calling.

All you need to do is that.

Filter everything through that.

When God leads you to eat healthier or watch less TV or stick to a budget or write a book, do it because He is calling you to. Not for any other reason.

Pursue your ministry with everything you have and encourage others as they pursue theirs.

Goodness knows the whiteboards in life are everywhere, but we can train our mind to see them, not as a record of a competition, but as proof that we are showing up for the ministry we’ve been called to.

So friends, this week my prayer for you and for myself is that we will take heed to the ministry which we have received in the Lord, and that we fulfill it.

Grace and peace,

Lynn H. Blackburn loves writing romantic suspense because her childhood fantasy was to become a spy, but her grown-up reality is that she’s a huge chicken and would have been caught on her first mission. She prefers to live vicariously through her characters and loves putting them into all kinds of terrifying situations while she’s sitting at home safe and sound in her pajamas!

Unknown Threat, the first book in her Defend and Protect series, was a 2021 Christy Award finalist, and her previous titles have won the Carol Award, the Selah Award, and the Faith, Hope, and Love Reader’s Choice Award.

She is a frequent conference speaker and has taught writers all over the country. Lynn lives in South Carolina with her true love and their three children. You can follow her real life happily ever after by signing up for her newsletter at LynnHBlackburn.com and @LynnHBlackburn on Bookbub, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.