Reverend Mark led collective worship this week on perseverance and the importance of not giving up.  

Good things come to those who work for it.

He talked about Geraint Thomas 

Geraint Thomas did not just wake up one day and decide to win a race; he had to work hard over many years to get to this stage. Geraint loved sport at school and took up cycling when he was ten, after watching other cyclists at his local velodrome. He was very good at it and soon started winning races and events. However, being good at cycling still wasn’t enough to win him the Tour de France; Geraint needed something else, too - perseverance.

In the Tour de France, a yellow jersey is worn by the rider who has completed the stages of the race so far in the least time. Even wearing the yellow jersey for even one stage of the race is a lifetime achievement for some cyclists. To be the overall winner is an amazing achievement.

In the Bible, Paul wrote about this many times when he described what it means to be a follower of God. On one occasion, he said, ‘we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.’ (Romans 5.4) Paul knew that being a follower of Jesus would be tough, and that it would require a lot of perseverance.

Geraint Thomas is a great example of this: he struggled through his suffering and persevered to demonstrate his hope that he would win the prize.

Persevering is not easy, but there is a huge sense of achievement when you keep trying and don’t give up easily.

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for Geraint Thomas and his example of perseverance.
Please help us to try hard to achieve our goals and dreams.
May we find something worth striving for and not give up easily.
Help us to see obstacles as opportunities.
Help us never to give up trying to do our best.
Amen.