The Long Hall

For me the saying “I am in it for the long haul” means heaps.
Being a flash in the pan is something I try to avoid.  William Wilberforce was one who was in it for the long hall.  He first tabled a bill in the British parliament against slavery in 1789.  19 years later he had partial success.  It was not until 1833 he tasted final success.  44 years after the bills first introduction.  He died 3 days after the Slavery Abolition Act was passed.
That to me is being in it for the long hall.
I find one of the biggy’s standing in the way of me being in it for the long haul is distractions.  U find even legitimate things can distract.  Things like caring for the family or myself, or looking out for others.  They should and need to happen.  What is most important for me though is  they form part of what I am after, and are not an end in themselves.
What matters most to me is having a single thing that forms the centre of my aspirations.  When I make the family the driving force of my motivations, I know I mean well but do not do the best by my family.  When I make others or some worthy cause my driving force, I miss it.
Those sort of things will always matter to me big time.  Yet I know from experience that when I put those things first, I miss it and the sense of failure can be overwhelming.  It is why I put seeking God first as my number one priority.  I have found other things assume their rightful place when I do.  Not only that, but I have found that I am often better at things.  Probably one of the reasons is I am more focused.  There are times I miss it and feel badly when I do, but it is not an “all is lost” feeling bad.  It is a getting back up again and having someone assist me thing.
Probably the best illustration I have heard (and I forget where I heard it) was a couple holding each end of a rope.  Someone got the rope in the middle and started climbing a ladder.  As the person climbed, the couple were automatically drawn closer together.
I feel that way about anything I am involved in.  The third person climbing the ladder while holding the rope automatically draws me closer to what I care about.
I am in it for the long haul.  There is buffeting and a sense that all is closing in on me at times, yet I can feel someone is climbing the ladder with my rope in hand, and all storms eventually pass.