Perseverance

"He Was on a Ride to a Safer Place with Rabbitwoman and Dogman"

I wanted to visit the Gillie and Marc sculpture in downtown Toronto just for the opportunity to hop on the bike behind Rabbitwoman, Dogman and an endangered Northern White Rhinoceros. The whimsical sculpture is at David Pecaut Square in Toronto's Entertainment District until May 2025. I am drawn to anything bicycle-related as it is my preferred form of exercise and transportation within the city. Cycling distance is the only activity I track on an app. My annual goal is 1000 km a year which I have achieved in the past 4 years by November or December. This year I completed 1000 km on August 10th. Due to a warmer-than-average winter, I started cycling in February and there have been no setbacks this year with joint pain flareups. It is time to set a new goal.

I have set many goals in my lifetime but have persevered with only a few. Enjoyable goals like bike riding or reading one book a week have been relatively easy to maintain. Other goals like learning another language or improving my piano skills have fallen by the wayside. I continually set goals for making good food choices but deviating from that path is too easy. Sometimes we have to start, fall down, get up and start again. After all, perseverance is the continued effort to do or achieve something, even when it is difficult or takes a long time.

Our grandchildren visited for a week in August. Young children gain new skills by trial and error and a lot of practice and perseverance. The motivation to walk, run, talk, and learn new things daily is inborn. 

Our six-year-old granddaughter has practiced swinging on monkey bars this summer to the point of developing blisters on the palms of her hands. The skin has toughened now and on this day her goal was to do the length of the bars seven times without stopping. She completed two and a half lengths which impressed me more than her. I don't remember swinging on monkey bars anytime in my life. The playgrounds of my childhood had swings, a slide and perhaps a wooden merry-go-round. 

Our four-year-old grandson was challenged by this high slide at another park. He had to climb a rope ladder to the top so Nana could not help. I stood at the bottom and heard him trying to work up the courage to come down the first time. He told the children behind him to go first but finally, he made his first descent. After that, he wanted to do it over and over again. He was very proud of his achievement.

Both children went on their first fishing excursion with Grandpa. I wasn't sure how patient they would be but they waited over an hour before catching the first fish. Fortunately, they each caught one fish and no one was happier than their grandfather!

I see no reason to stop learning or working on new achievements because I am of "retirement age".  It is easy to fall into routines that lack the stimulation and challenges needed to keep the mind and body supple. Every morning at precisely 6:30 AM I watch my retired neighbour jog past our house, returning at precisely 7:00 AM. I will not take up jogging or swinging on monkey bars, but I can seek new challenges each and every day. 

One of my favourite scriptures is in the book of 1 Peter chapter 1. The context is important but I have memorized verses 5 to 7.  Perseverance in faith is also based on knowledge and self-control. Its final fruit is love.

...make every effort to add to your faith goodness;

 and to goodness, knowledge;

 and to knowledge, self-control; 

and to self-control, perseverance; 

and to perseverance, godliness; 

and to godliness, mutual affection; 

and to mutual affection, love.