Preparing for Tests

 Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this glorious day in the great state of Missouri! My Beautiful Bride, Kathy, youngest Tender Warrior, Landry, and I made a midnight run – literally!! 😊 – to see my oldest Tender Warrior, Payton, for the weekend! So very blessed for this precious time!

 

I want to talk about two things this week – preparation and tests – and then, hopefully, bring them all together! 😊

 

Marriam-Webster.com defines preparation as “the action or process of making something ready for use or service or of getting ready for some occasion, test, or duty.” It is the latter part that I really want to focus on…

 

Most of us learned at a very early age that tests in school were simple if we prepared for them. And some, like me, learned that you can pray, hope, and wish all you want however if you have not prepared for the test, you probably are not going to perform so well. It is so simple to understand in the classroom or the weight room – yes, you actually do have to lift weights if you want to get stronger…makes sense, right?!?! 😊 So why do we, far too often, expect to perform well on the test without preparing to do so?! I don’t have the answer to that question, I can simply testify that if we prepare, consistently, we will perform well on the test.

 

Let me share a few quotes about preparation…

 

“Proper preparation prevents poor performance.” – Stephen Keague

 

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

 

“What we prepare for is what we shall get.”- William Graham Sumner

 

“Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.” – Confucious

 

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” – Alexander Graham Bell

 

O.K. Friends, let’s pivot and talking about something else…tests. Now, we are pretty good talking about the test we had to take during our formal education…they are expected. However, learning, growing, and developing doesn’t stop once we are done with our formal education. Life will test us…we don’t expect it and we certainly don’t want it, do we?! However, the reality is all of us are going to face them.

 

Let me share a few quotes about the tests of life (we like to call them trials)…

 

“A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca

 

“Nobody is exempt from the trials of life, but everyone can always find something positive in everything, even in the worst of times.” – Roy T. Bennett

 

“Sometimes life takes you into a dark place where you feel it’s impossible to breathe. You think you’ve been buried, but don’t give up, because if the truth be told, you’ve actually been planted.” – Karen Gibbs

 

“Trials come. Tribulation comes. Fires of refinement come. The purpose of refinement is to bring to light the things hidden in darkness and then remove them.” – Robin Bertram

 

“Trials make you strong. Failure makes you humble. Challenges make you strive. Life keeps you going and growing.” – Kemi Sogunle

 

Anyone feeling a little uncomfortable right about now?! 😊 Let’s bring this whole thing full circle. We totally get and expect tests in our formal education. They are used to evaluate our progress and promote us to the next level. We should also expect tests in life. Whether we want them or not, whether we expect them or not, they are coming. Some are big and some are small...none of them are comfortable! While tests in formal education measure what we already know, the tests of life help build, strengthen, and refine us.

 

So here is the question we must all answer; what are we doing to prepare for the tests of life? Every last one of us will want to be at our best when our best is required, however unlike the tests we had in formal education, we don’t know when the tests of life are coming, nor do we know what they will test. In a moment something can happen that challenges everything within us and it can come in the form of a spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, relational, and/or financial test (and I am sure I am missing others!).

 

Again, what are we doing to prepare for the tests? What are the daily disciplines we are following that will give us the strength, courage, knowledge, and wisdom to face whatever test, trial or tribulation arises?

 

I want to encourage all of us to be highly intentional with, and take ownership of, our spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, relational, and financial well-being. While we can’t know when our tests are coming like we did in grade school, we can live with the same confidence we had walking into those classrooms by preparing our spirits, minds, bodies, and relationships every day.

 

And there is one key here, another question; in who or what are you placing your faith? We all have faith in something; what is it? I cannot tell you or make you put your faith in anything. I simply want to close by sharing Matthew 7: 24 – 27 with you:

 

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

 

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious families, and please stay well! 😊

 

Kev