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You can read her bio and her other posts here: The What of it All | The Goodness of God

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Hebrews 12:1 NIV

I have always had a love/hate relationship with running.

I love it because of the exhilarating rush it gives me, and I hate it because it feels hard most days. My introduction to running started when I was a senior in high school and had decided to go out for track. Training extra hard, I wanted to be good at it and felt that I lacked the experience of the others who had competed longer. One of my events was the 400 meter sprint, which is one fast lap around the track. My instructions on race day were to sprint the first 200 as fast as I could, then pump my arms and drift through the 300 meter mark, and then give it everything I had that last 100 meters to the finish line.

“Hey, don’t die at the 300 meter mark!” my teammate and future Olympian whispered to me at the starting line. Great! No pressure at all.

With my adrenaline at an all time high, the gun went off and I put the race plan into action. 100 meters… 200 meters… 300 meters…My body felt how hard this race really was. Breathing felt difficult, my legs felt like I was carrying a backpack full of bricks, and my arms felt like noodles. My mind however was saying over and over, “Don’t die, don’t die!” I managed to pull through that corner on to the home stretch and could see the finish line. Just the sight of it and knowing how close it was, made me run harder and faster and with more determination.

That race became my strongest event that year with a silver state medal as my reward, but God has used it as an object lesson in my life in so many more powerful ways.

The race we are running, known as life, can sometimes be overwhelming, sad, and difficult.

We may have to tell ourselves many times over, “Don’t die on this hard corner!”

Since losing my husband four years ago, I find myself in this place more often than I’d like to admit. But we want to run in such a way that we can say at the end of our lives here on this earth, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7 (NIV)

So, how do we do that?

Below are a few suggestions to get you thinking about your own list:

• Have a saving relationship with Jesus where His word, worship and prayer are all incorporated.
• Trust God and His goodness-Psalm 27:13-14.
• Stand firm-Ephesians 6 tells us to put on the armor of God and to stand our ground.
• Share our faith and the reason for our hope-Hebrews 11:1
• Run hard for the finish line – Heaven. Rev. 21:4

Running develops endurance, and I would suggest that life develops a need for perseverance.

I have felt like staying in my PJ’s on more days than I care to admit, but God keeps spurring me on and giving me the strength to keep going. He is conditioning us to be warriors and, in the process, He is using us to be a light in the darkness.

Don’t give up! Keep fighting the good fight….until the finish line.

Dear Lord, I pray for help to push through the hard. Help us know You are where our strength comes from and submit to You as You mold us into the warriors You want us to become. Amen

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