I’ve always been a voracious reader, even as a child. My regular practice of stopping by the local public library on the way home from school would net me the maximum number of books allowed to be borrowed. I would practically inhale the books and return for more within a few days.

When I was twelve years old, I borrowed a book from the library and put it down after a few pages. I didn’t like it. It seemed to start out slow and for the first time that I could remember, I didn’t want to keep reading.

But my mother had a different idea. She told me to keep reading. She even held on to the other books I had borrowed until I finished the first one. When I accused her of being mean, she said something that has stuck with me all these decades. “Something about the book attracted you or you wouldn’t have borrowed it. Even though you’re disappointed, finish it anyway. You might like it after all.”

I did keep reading…mostly because I wanted the other books and she was holding them hostage. By the third chapter I was hooked and I finished the book a day later. (I really was a voracious reader!) Mom was right in not allowing me to quit.For many of us, quitting is the easy way out…and it’s a way we learned at a young age.

Don’t enjoy something? Drop it.

Find a skill too difficult to master? Quit.

Don’t like the people you’re with? Walk away.

But we’re passing this culture of quitting to another generation and we’re not doing them any favors. There’s something to be said for patience and perseverance…and the Bible has a lot to say about it. For example:

• “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;” (Romans 5:3 NIV).
• “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9 NIV).
• “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (Hebrews 10:36 NIV).
• “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life” (James 1:12 NIV).

Give your children and grandchildren the gift of perseverance. Encourage them not to quit when things get tough, unpleasant, or inconvenient. It’s a gift they will need for the rest of their life.

And in case you were wondering about that book…it was The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, a Newbery Medal winner. 🙂