Given last week my daughter’s final classes wrapped up and our homeschooling season came to a close, the topic of finishing and finishing well came up. There is a difference. Finishing can mean just checking off all the boxes and calling it good. Finishing well entails giving it 100% all the way to the end, not skimping or rushing through, but making sure you’ve done your very best in every aspect even up until the very last moment.

I explained to my daughter it’s all about where we set our bar. If we set it pretty low, then finishing is a breeze. If we reach for something higher and better, then more effort, planning, and perseverance are required to finish.

As a parent, I desire to finish well. When I send my daughter off to college in a few short years, I hope I can say with confidence that as a parent I finished well to prepare her for the next phase of her life into adulthood. Some days I’m more confident in that process than others, but regardless I’m not willing to lower the bar.

Apart from my role as a parent, I desire to finish well as a woman living out the desires and plans God has for me. I think about how our season of homeschooling has now come to an end and I look forward to what God has in store for me personally in that new free time opening up during the day. I know I can fill it with all sorts of good volunteer things, enjoyable activities, or even a part time job, but I don’t want to just fill up my days with …. stuff. I want to set the bar higher and have my life count for something bigger. When I think and pray along those lines, I get excited.

Whatever your upcoming week entails or whatever the season you are in demands, plan to finish well. You’ll feel better knowing you did your best, in spite of difficulty and obstacles, pushing through even up to the very end!