Post by racinchaplain on Jun 6, 2006 21:44:45 GMT -5
PIT NOTE
JIMMIE JOHNSON went ‘spinning’ twice during the Dover weekend. He
spun out once in his qualifying run, which resulted in his starting
42nd, and once during the race when the #40 car slid into him in the
3rd turn. He went TWO laps down early in the race, and he did not
get back on the lead lap until lap 77, after he stayed on the track
and was in front of the leader when a caution came out. Once again,
he persevered and ended the day still in 1st place in the points
race, leading Matt Kenseth by 74 points.
PIT NOTE:
If Jimmie wins the 2006 Championship, “perseverance” is the word I
will use to describe his year. An interesting statistic for him
would be how many races he has been at least one lap down at some
point, and has come back to finish in the top 10. Many have
received the “lucky dog” award, a free pass to the first car a lap
down when a caution comes out. No one has made more out of that act
of grace. Jimmie and his team have not just worked hard and been
lucky when they got back on the lead lap. They anticipate getting
back, they work on their car as if they already are on the lead lap,
and they plan strategy for getting back, even if they don’t get the
“lucky dog.” Once back, they don’t congratulate themselves and then
slack off, they remain focused on the bigger prize of winning the
race, not just the minor victory of getting a lap back.
In our walk with God, He calls upon us to focus on the end, that
being “mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (”Perseverance
must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not
lacking anything.” James 1:4.) In Hebrews 12:1, life is described
as a race that is marked out for us and watched by others, and we
are to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily
entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for
us.” Being a “lap down” at different times in our lives is not
pleasant, but it is not a grave either. The Apostle James tells us
that being “laps down” is a testing of our faith and “develops
perseverance” in us. (James 1:3)
Perseverance is not just being a bulldog and making something
happen. It is a condition of faith where the focus is on the end
results, the attitude of “yes we can” prevails even when
circumstances look dim, a definite strategy is followed, though it
is open for review and change at all times. Panic and chaos is
never evident, and the final result will be closer to the ultimate
goal than anyone thought possible.
JIMMIE JOHNSON went ‘spinning’ twice during the Dover weekend. He
spun out once in his qualifying run, which resulted in his starting
42nd, and once during the race when the #40 car slid into him in the
3rd turn. He went TWO laps down early in the race, and he did not
get back on the lead lap until lap 77, after he stayed on the track
and was in front of the leader when a caution came out. Once again,
he persevered and ended the day still in 1st place in the points
race, leading Matt Kenseth by 74 points.
PIT NOTE:
If Jimmie wins the 2006 Championship, “perseverance” is the word I
will use to describe his year. An interesting statistic for him
would be how many races he has been at least one lap down at some
point, and has come back to finish in the top 10. Many have
received the “lucky dog” award, a free pass to the first car a lap
down when a caution comes out. No one has made more out of that act
of grace. Jimmie and his team have not just worked hard and been
lucky when they got back on the lead lap. They anticipate getting
back, they work on their car as if they already are on the lead lap,
and they plan strategy for getting back, even if they don’t get the
“lucky dog.” Once back, they don’t congratulate themselves and then
slack off, they remain focused on the bigger prize of winning the
race, not just the minor victory of getting a lap back.
In our walk with God, He calls upon us to focus on the end, that
being “mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (”Perseverance
must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not
lacking anything.” James 1:4.) In Hebrews 12:1, life is described
as a race that is marked out for us and watched by others, and we
are to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily
entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for
us.” Being a “lap down” at different times in our lives is not
pleasant, but it is not a grave either. The Apostle James tells us
that being “laps down” is a testing of our faith and “develops
perseverance” in us. (James 1:3)
Perseverance is not just being a bulldog and making something
happen. It is a condition of faith where the focus is on the end
results, the attitude of “yes we can” prevails even when
circumstances look dim, a definite strategy is followed, though it
is open for review and change at all times. Panic and chaos is
never evident, and the final result will be closer to the ultimate
goal than anyone thought possible.
