If you can’t view the video imbed below, try this link of Bob Seger’s “Against the Wind.”
Bob Seger was right!
I once had this idea of success. It included money, a nice house, an influential career and lots of friends who adored me. I was taught that if I worked hard I could achieve anything. So I worked hard.
I look back now, and realize how directionless that hard work was. I sought careers that weren’t right for me and made friends with people who mocked
my faith. I succumbed to others’ ideas of right and wrong. No matter how far ahead I traveled, somehow I never felt the satisfaction of having gotten there. I started off wanting to honor God with my life, but I never actually asked Him what He wanted me to do with it. I ran ahead and expected God to keep up.
I once had a dream that could have been a video for this song. My job at the time required I visit a few locations throughout the day. In the dream, instead of taking my car to one of them, I walked. There was such a head wind I couldn’t move against it. I’d lift my leg only for it to come down at or behind the place it started. I lifted the other with the same result. I remember a feeling of uselessness at the effort. Not powerlessness, like the wind was too strong, but a real uselessness, like I was doing something wrong.
I wonder if the guy in the song felt that way. He sought joy in the things of this world: women, fame and career. But in the end he never seemed to get where he wanted to go. Maybe he needed to ask someone for directions. Maybe someone with a map.
Years after having that dream I finally submitted my life to God. Yes, I wanted to honor Him before, but now, I decided to follow His direction and not my own. He told me to turn around and walk the other way. So I did—swallowing some pride as I went.
And now I feel the wind in my sails taking me to a better place. His place. And though my slightly bent rudder may need regular correction and I must continually consult the map (the Bible), I thank God I’m no longer runnin’ against the wind.
Isaiah 40:30-31:
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
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Connie, what a wonderful, inspiring post. Thanks much for sharing it. There's so much to respond to here. First, I can relate to this sense of achievement. For years I've thought perhaps it's just an American thing--this need to achieve, achieve, and achieve. But, to whose standards? The more I read, the more I see it's really a worldwide push. I was raised in a household that promoted accomplishment (although no praise was given for this), yet parental disassociation occurred when I didn't do so well. In my earlier writing endeavors I would often feel like a failure when "published status" didn't happen right away. Now, I don't. Now I've come to realize that it is all in God's timing. He wants me to achieve what He wants me to in His own time. I really appreciate the Isaiah scripture you chose to close your piece: well said, my friend.
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