When I turned 16, I got on my bike and went looking for a job. I got hired at a Kentucky Fried Chicken (now shrewdly named “KFC”). My job was cleaning the dining room and emptying garbage. At the end of my shift, my skin would be slick from all the grease in the air. It was a nasty job.

The next summer, between my sophomore and junior year of high school, I worked for the school district. My friend and I would go from school to school cutting grass and weed-eating along the curbs. We started at 6:00 a.m. and finished at 2:30 p.m. (before it got too hot). It really wasn’t such a bad job. It just meant getting up early.

The next summer, before my senior year, I went to my dad with a request. I asked him if I could train for football instead of working. It meant I wouldn’t be earning any money and would need money from him. He gave me the okay.

So I continued through the summer the training program I’d been on all year. I lifted weights. I ran. I lifted more weights. I ran on the beach with other guys on my team. I worked hard…at football. And it paid off. I was named to the all-county team, played in an all-star game and received three awards. One was for outstanding defensive player of the year. Another was a scholar-athlete award. The third was for weight-lifter of the year. Unfortunately, we didn’t make the playoffs despite a 7-1-1 record.

I was fully committed to football in 1980. I didn’t play other sports. I didn’t have a summer job. I trained for football. That was it. I was fully committed.

What am I fully committed to now?

Well, I’m committed to a lot of things. Family. Job/ministry. Paying bills. Working out. A few friends. Writing in this blog.

But what am I fully committed to? Like I was to football in 1980.

The reason I’m asking myself the question is because 2 Chronicles 16:9 says:

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.”

So I wonder…do His eyes stop on me…or does He have to keep looking?