Day 21: Second

I've been sharing with you little vignettes of my life.  One such happening that comes to mind was when I was a senior in high school.

I was a member of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).  My 12th grade year, the club traveled to Gainesville, FL, for a FBLA competition.  I was participating in the state-wide clerical contest.  I placed second which was kind of disappointing, but still placing second in the whole state of Florida was an honor.  I got this big trophy and some attention at my school, and it was a nice feeling.

Our club's awards. Mine was silver, 3rd from the right.

So, I had this big trophy sitting around. I drug it with me when I moved away from home and got married.  I proudly displayed it for a year or so and then relegated it to a closet. Over time, I got rid of the trophy, I can't even tell you now what I did with it.

It's just a teeny-tiny illustration that awards don't last forever. 

In fact, if you notice, it is really hard to recall who Miss America was a couple years ago or who won an Oscar 10 years ago.  Of course, there are people who do know and remember this stuff and we call them Jeopardy champions or trivia buffs.  But for the most part, people are only interested in those who are in the limelight in the here and now.

Philippians 2:3English Standard Version (ESV)Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

One of the paradoxical things I've learned in my walk as a believer is that we are not to seek out the spotlight. In fact, we are to esteem others better than ourselves. What!!! Does that mean we don't strive for excellence? No, I think God wants us to do our best in anything we do. It comes down to motive. We should give the credit to the One who made us. Our talents come from Him, after all.

My goal now is not to be first, but to finish my Journey well.

~~~

Was it ever a burning desire with you to be first at something? Tell us about it!

This post is Day 21 of a series entitled 31 Days of Life on the Journey where I share about my journey as a believer, wife, mom and grandmother.  I invite you to return each day to find the newest link here. Myquillin at The Nester is the creator of the 31 Day Challenge.  I'm linking this post to the category, "Faith and Inspiration." You can also visit Kate's blog, "Heading Home" to read the posts of all the other participants of the 31 day challenge who are writing on her daily prompts for 5 minutes. Today's prompt is "second."

You can read each day's post in order as they are published by clicking on the link here. Or you could subscribe to my blog - I wouldn't want you to miss a thing! Just fill in your email address in the box below the words "Follow by email" second from the top in the upper right hand column.