"Where Are Your Eyes?"

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:13-14

I had a problem.  I simply could not seem to get my shot grouping tight enough during Basic Training Firearms Training.  I tried everything I could think of, to no avail.  I always had one shot that was outside the perimeter. I didn't want to be "that guy" who failed Rifle Qualification and had to recycle through it again.  I was getting frustrated and so was my Drill Sergeant.  I could tell he was getting more than a bit irritated because his normally loud tone was becoming less and less loud.  Everyone else had finished and qualified except for me, so to say I was nervous and under pressure was an understatement.  I racked my first round and hit the target dead center. Whew? Maybe I can do it after all.  Second round was up and to the left but still in the perimeter.  Gulp. This is going sideways fast.  I took a deep breath and looked back at the rest of our platoon impatiently waiting on me.  Then right in my ear, I heard my Drill Sergeant hiss, "Where are your eyes soldier? Why are you looking behind you? Ain't nuthin you can do about the past! But you CAN do something about the present.  Eyes on the Prize Son!"  I took another deep breath, aimed, squeezed the trigger and the last round hit within the perimeter.  My Drill Sergeant grabbed the back of my collar and, quite literally, hoisted me out of the foxhole and told me "Keep Your Eyes On The Prize!"

I learned a valuable lesson. Worrying about the past, getting angry about the past, focusing on the past will only keep you locked in the past and you can't move forward when you're locked in the past.  Don't get me wrong, there are times when the Whisperer will hiss in my ear about the time I was beaten up in 5th grade, of that time when I was accused and punished for something I didn't do, or when got angry with my brother for telling me to jump off the roof of the garage with Dad's umbrella because it was a parachute.. The Whisperer never rests and never misses a chance to remind us of that time we can never change (aka The Past) because he wants us to get locked in the past and not keep our eyes on the prize.

I don't know about you, but I am convinced that the prize Abba has in store for us is WELL worth keeping as our focus!  Thank you SSGT Oliver Wendall Burnham for reminding me to KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE!