Running

I am a runner. It’s true. I don’t currently run long distances and due to the time constraints of our schedules I don’t run often, but I am a runner.

I started running in high school. It was a good way to stay in shape in the off-season (I also played basketball). But equally, if not more, important to me at the time was the fact that my brother was a runner. My brother was (is) my hero, and I desperately wanted to be like him.

One thing I clearly remember from my days as a track athlete (and I use the term very loosely) is pacing. If you start a race too fast you don’t have anything left at the end. You struggle along that last distance as you watch your fellow racers pass you. The goal is to start at a moderate pace saving some of your energy and momentum for a final kick, a strong end.

Right now I am in that closing distance. The finish line of so many things looms just out of reach in the distance. And I am struggling to maintain momentum.

Last week was spring break from all of our activities, and we took the week off of school as well. I hoped the break would refresh, and I would come into this week ready to finish strong, ready to dig in, excited to get back to it.

But I’m not.

As I ran Saturday I prayed for endurance. I prayed that I will finish well. I prayed that at the end of these next seven weeks I can count victory in the name of Jesus. I prayed that each day I will press on, and at the end of the day I will raise my hands to heaven and praise my God because he allowed me to endure.

You see, I think these next seven weeks aren’t about the things I do. They aren’t about finishing the book work and learning to read and knowing how to multiply. They aren’t about preparing meals and doing laundry and sweeping the floors. They aren’t about having the best Bible story and pitching my hymns perfectly and answering all of the questions right.

I think these next seven weeks are about finding strength in weakness. They are about relying on God to take care of the things. They are about trusting that He equips me because He has called me. They are about enduring and finishing well.

Paul was a runner, too; a runner for the cause of Christ.

Paul is one of my heroes, and I desperately want to be like him.