We Strive Not For Men

Recently I was working in my sun room and stopped to really study this frame and it's contents. Back in 2013, Lynn and Julia and I were asked to speak about Common Core in Canton, OK. We left Oklahoma City in rain coming down so hard that we could barely see - truly treacherous driving conditions - but we always felt that if someone wanted to hear our research on the topic, we'd do whatever we needed to do to get wherever we were asked to go.

We found the church in which we were to speak and ran - dragging all our equipment - into the sanctuary. As we stumbled around in the foyer trying to dry off, two lovely ladies suddenly materialized with the most welcoming smiles, arms laden with a beautiful,  overflowing basket of goodies compiled by our hosts, just for us. I'll never forget it. Included was a loaf of home baked bread, homemade jam, candles, dish towels and this frame with this scripture inside.

Colossians 3:23-24: And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

Many times during our fight against Common Core - all done (except for a few donations and small speaking fees) out of our own pocketbooks, through our own budgets - I wanted to quit. I'd stay up all hours of the night researching a policy or law or what had happened in other states using Common Core, only to have a couple hundred people read it. We'd work for weeks to have rallies or forums, only to have a handful of people show up. I'd do a media interview or write an article only to find completely false or deliberately hurtful personal attacks scattered across social media and news outlets – stuff my kids would even hear and ask me about – and I'd have to struggle to overcome a spirit of defeat that would seem to hang on for days.

That night in Canton, after receiving such a precious gift, I began to claim this scripture. If I was going to put myself out there – if I was going to try and swim against the tide for something I believed in, then it had to be something I wasn't doing for me. If it were, I was going to get tired and angry and hurt and defeated. If I was engaging in something innocent of spirit, something to help others and something the Lord could bless – then I had to do it for His praise, not the praise of men.

Throughout the six or so years we girls traveled the state - and I the country - talking about Common Core, I saw the Lord bless us and our efforts over and over and over again. We met many lovely people, made many lasting friendships and heard many stories of how parents reconnected and reengaged with their kids in school, or struck out on their own homeschooling journey. It was an amazing time that will never be forgotten, and one that could never have been accomplished without a constant remembrance of that important scripture.

Oddly, today isn't much different for me. My job as Mayor of our little town still finds me often swimming upstream and the brunt of frequent lambasting on social media to the point of feeling defeated. The difference is perspective. Once I remind myself to remember who my efforts are meant to please, it's easier to move past the defeat stage into the “bring it on" stage. It's not about ‘me’. It should never be about ‘me’. In the end, if our efforts are morally right and grounded in truth, we can relax and know that – no matter what others may say, no matter the enormity of our task – His reward is really all that matters.