I got into rucking this past Fall. Rucking is just going for long hikes with a heavy backpack.
It’s turned out to be the perfect workout for me because it involves three things I love: Walking, the woods, and long periods of uninterrupted thinking.
So, finding the motivation to get outside and walk in the woods wasn’t difficult at first, especially when the days were warm, and the foliage was in its full, autumnal glory.
But winter brought snow, cold, and excuses.
- “Too rainy”
- “Too frigid”
- “Too busy”
Suddenly, I found myself looking for reasons not to get out and ruck.
But here in Michigan, the winters are quite long. And I soon realized that if I only Rucked when the weather was right, I would never do it.
I was reminded of the words of Solomon:
He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
– Ecclesiastes 11:4
Solomon pictures a procrastinating farmer, who, like me, was hunting for excuses not do the thing he needed to do.
The farmer doesn’t put his seed in the ground because he’s worried the wind would blow it away. Come harvest season, he peers up at the clouds and tells himself, “Looks like rain, can’t harvest today.”
What strikes me is that his excuses aren’t wholly invalid. A windy day would have made it hard to sow seeds, and harvesting wet crops is a recipe for spoilage. Similarly, hiking in the rain and snow is also not ideal. But I think Solomon’s point is more about our attitude toward tough things that need to be done.
When there’s difficult work to be done, we look for reasons not to do it. And one of the most common excuses is that “the timing just isn’t right.”
- “This morning isn’t a good one for reading the Bible, I’m too tired.”
- “I’m too busy to start that project this week. Let me catch up with email first.”
- “Yes, I’ll start that new diet soon. But I have that vacation coming up.”
But the thing about being a faithful steward is that you don’t wait for ideal circumstances to fulfill your responsibilities. You do them as an act of worship unto the Lord, even when the conditions aren’t perfect.
Faithful people don’t seek out excuses; they ignore them.
As for me, I put waterproof hiking boots, a rain poncho, and a better perspective on my Christmas list. And, yesterday I came home from a long hike cold, wet, muddy, but grateful that I did it anyway.
If you know something is important, don’t let your mind fixate on the excuses. Do the thing even when the conditions aren’t perfect. And do it for the glory of God.
