#extra mile

Shout out for the staff at Hollowood Chemists, 76 Runcorn Road, Barnton, Northwich CW8 4EY! They're always so kind and they've just done it again!

Life as an unpaid carer for a family member can be exhausting. But today a staff member at Hollowood's made all the difference by going out of her way to help me with a little problem. The days of the week on my 91 year old mum-in-law's pill box are wearing out, potentially leading to the wrong doses being taken, as her meds vary daily. So the staff member gave me a sheet of the stickers they use when bubble wrapping patients' meds into doses!

I think acknowledging these kindnesses is so important. So, please feel free to give a shout out in the comments for someone who's shown you extra kindness recently!

Thanks!

Maybe I’m dating myself, but do you remember vinyl records? When scratched, they’d skip and replay the same lyric over and over. That’s me when it comes to mercy—I might sound like a broken record, but it’s a message worth repeating. Last Sunday at church, we sang the old hymn again:“Mercy there was great and grace was free…”And mercy has been echoing in my soul ever since.God’s mercy is endless…

     My coach when I was a teenage athlete would constantly tell us to go the extra mile. That’s how we get the edge on our opponents. Extra training means extra skill, strength, and extra growth. After practice, I’d go for a run, or stay extra to work on form. Then when I got home, I’d make sure to get my own little strength training in. I’d compete in extra seasons for freestyle, because it was more exposure to the sport and would make me better. But it wasn’t enough, because I still failed. Years later, I’d learn about the importance of rest and recovery, being just as important as the training itself.

     I grew up Pentecostal. They would constantly ask for more of everyone. Tithing wasn’t enough, you were to give even more. Tithing was the minimum, it didn’t even belong to you. You needed to give OVER 10 percent of your income, otherwise you’re lukewarm. But you had to give to the point where it was sacrifice. Don’t just come to Sunday service. Come to Wednesday. But make sure you also do bible studies before Sunday service, go to outreach, preach on the streets, fast when everyone is doing it, but also do it on your own. Because nothing you do is never enough, Jesus gave his life for you, so the minimum is your entire life. In retrospect, it seemed like such a psy-op, to get everyone so invested in the church that they all but own you.

     I chose to join the Marine Corps to honor my brother, and I don’t regret it for a second. But during training, I was once again told to go the extra mile. All the great warriors of the past, some that became legends through their acts of valor, or became legends from their sacrifice. A perfect score fitness test wasn’t enough, you had to do more than perfect, because perfect was the minimum. Extra military instruction was to be combat ready, so the bare minimum was extra. Showing up on time meant your late, you have to be early. But also being early to being early, and make sure you’re checking in to be early to make sure your early which made you on time. Serving your contract was often looked down upon, you shouldn’t just ‘get out’ because that was the bare minimum, and we strive for excellence. Reenlist, go the extra mile.

     College and school had similar rhetoric. Make sure you do the extra tutoring, and the extra credit. Passing with a C isn’t enough, A was the minimum if you wanted to be excellent. Make sure you get your internships too, because having that extra unpaid experience on your resume? That was the minimum that employers look for. All the employers are looking for that extra mile.

     In your relationships, it’s not enough to be good to each other. You shouldn’t need to be told what your partner wants, you should put in the extra effort to show that you REALLY care. Same with your friendships, and ties with your family. Being there isn’t enough, go the extra mile to show that you’re 100 percent into it. No, to make sure you’re 110% into it.

     When it comes to work, learn extra stuff at work to show you’re an asset, take on more responsibility without the extra pay because it looks good for the company. You represent the company off clock as well, so make sure you never do ANYTHING unprofessional. What you do in your personal life should be a reflection of your work ethic, so make sure you’re doing more OFF the clock.

           I’ve spent so much of my life going the extra mile that at this point, I’m sick of it. Because it seems like when you give extra all the time, you end up with nothing. Nothing but an exhausted shell of who you could have been if you would have let yourself rest or say no.  

     There’s nothing wrong with rest. There’s nothing wrong with saying no. There’s nothing wrong with taking a breather. In fact, you NEED to prioritize your recovery.