Training camp was an experience I will never forget. I arrived not knowing what to expect and was completely blown away.
Now, two days later, I am still unpacking my backpack … and my thoughts.
On day two, our squad’s leader shared a story that resonated with me of the monk and a tiger.
A monk traveling across a field is pursued by a ferocious tiger. The monk raced to the edge of a cliff, glanced back, and saw the tiger about to spring. The monk spotted a vine dangling over the edge of the cliff. He grabbed it and began shinnying down the side of the cliff out of the clutches of the tiger.
Whew! Narrow escape.
The monk then looked down and saw a quarry of jagged rocks five hundred feet below. He looked up and saw the tiger poised atop the cliff with bared claws. Just then, two mice began to nibble at the vine.
What to do?
The monk saw a strawberry within arms reach, growing out of the face of the cliff.
He plucked it, ate it, and exclaimed, “Yum! That’s the best strawberry I’ve ever tasted in my entire life.”
If the monk had been preoccupied with the rock below (the future) or the tiger above (the past), he would have missed the strawberry in the present moment.
The moral of the story: Life is best when you do not focus on the tigers of the past or the jagged rocks of the future but only on the strawberry that comes in the here and now.
Our squad leader encouraged us to find our strawberry every day. Do it today and on The Race, he said.
So I did!
Here are 11 strawberries I found during training camp:
- Less is definitely more.
- God Speaks.
- When We Move, He Moves.
- Community is Key.
- Keep it Moving Baby! Maintain a healthy lifestyle.
- The early bird catches the warm water!
- Choose to forgive.
- God doesn’t want Facebook Friends. He wants face-to-face friends.
- You don’t get to opt out of brokenness.
- Be over prepared to go with the flow.
- You will never see the power of God unless you risk it all for the Gospel.
Have you found your strawberry today?
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Thank you to all who have and continue to support me. I would not have been able to experience training camp without your partnership.
May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26
