Back to Zero

I’ve had writer’s block for almost two years now, which is why the site has been so quiet. I’ve had moments where something will break through, but it never really stays. I’ve been alive, though – raising kids, being a wife, working full time, and staying involved in our church.

And recently, I’ve taken up running. It doesn’t come easy, and I do not particularly enjoy it while doing it, despite genuinely looking forward to it. It’s hard work, and I have to work for every bit of it. I run the equivalent of a 5k on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and I love how lit up my Apple Watch is on those days. It shows how hard I’ve worked, even if I don’t feel it in my step.

The other day, I was lying in bed, and I checked the final counts to put it into one of my apps, and it was gone. Gone were the bright circles showing how hard I’d worked that day. It was blank.

Zero steps.

Zero exercise minutes.

Zero stand hours.

It was midnight, and everything had reset. It was back to zero.


It reminded me of the lesson in our marriage series that we do – that all the points we get for nice things we do reset back to zero at midnight. We have to work every day at loving our spouse in ways that make them feel loved. We cannot expect the work we put in yesterday or last week or six months ago to carry us through tomorrow.

It all resets at midnight.

And that extends to all aspects of our lives. As much as I want people at work to remember the time I handled things proactively instead of reactively, that only carried through the end of that day. Today, I was frustrated and short when someone needed my help – and that’s the only thing that counts for today.

But I don’t want to work hard today. Today, I want a short cut. And there are none to be found.

And I see my desire for shortcuts in my parenting.

I took you to the park yesterday…

I read you two days ago. ..

We spent all that time together this weekend…

And I see it in my spiritual walk.

But I just attended that Women’s Conference…

I read the entire chapter of Romans last week…

I just finished a bible study…

Why do I need to do more work today? 

Well, because everything resets at midnight. Like the steps, the work we did yesterday will prepare us for tomorrow. It will make us stronger for tomorrow. It will make us better equipped for tomorrow, but it will not carry us through tomorrow. It will not do the work for us tomorrow. Anyone who has trained to run or built up their base will tell you that progress is slow, but regress is quick. It takes months to build up the stamina to run a long race, but only weeks of inactivity to lose a significant chunk of the progress you’ve made.

So go, and keep going. Keep doing. Start each day with the goal of loving your people well, going above and beyond for your coworkers and spouse and kids. Acknowledge that the clock resetting at midnight is a gift of a fresh start – a whole new day to give the world your best you.

Because tomorrow, you’ll be right back at zero again.

5 comments

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    • Melody on June 20, 2017 at 11:46 am

    Wonderful post, Kristin! Thank you!

    • Brooke Heffernon on June 14, 2017 at 11:23 am

    Thank you for sharing this! As always, it’s just what I needed.

  1. Well, wow. That’s a darn good way of coming out of writer’s block.

    • Sarah on June 13, 2017 at 7:24 pm

    ❤️ Needed this today

    • Misty on June 13, 2017 at 7:08 pm

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