Finish the Job

Before we got our new vinyl fence, the west side of our backyard was bounded by a 6-foot-tall cedar picket fence.  Since every house in our culdesac has white picket fences, I painted the cedar pickets white.  Every few years I had to repaint the fence because the paint would start peeling and look pretty bad.  Each time I did this job it was the same.  I would buy new paint and brushes and get started some Saturday morning.  At first, I was excited to put on a new coat of paint and make things look better.  But after painting seven or eight of the pickets, my arm would get tired and I would want to quit,  especially when I would look down the fence and see how much more still needed painting.  But I didn't want to have a fence that was only partly painted so I would push on and continue to paint.  I would switch the paint brush to my left hand for a while to give my right arm a rest, and switch back and forth as I moved down the row.  Before long I was half done with the job.  After reaching the half-way point I began to feel that I might be able to finish the job after all.  This added hope helped me to persevere until, at last, I was done!

I remember how good it felt to have accomplished the goal that I had set for myself.  And it felt really good to see how nice the fence looked.  A job well done always helps us feel good about ourselves.  Most jobs in life are hard.  Sometimes we may feel like quitting before we are done.  But if we push on and find ways to finish we will never regret it.