It's been almost a month since I last entered a post. Wow - where did that month go? Is it me or do you feel like time is just going by so quickly?
My last post was about disappointment. The theme of my posts lately seem to hinge on change.And sometimes change leads to disappointment. And that's okay. I don't live there for sure. And I can't deny that there is a great deal of change going on in my life, the life of my kiddos, the life of my church and community. I won't hash out change again - did a bit of that on the Feb 21 post.
Today I am writing about the race, or, the journey. Same thing. I guess it depends on the day but there are times it feels like a race and there are times it feels like a journey. Not sure if that makes sense.
I just did my first 5K this past weekend. And while a 5k is only about 3.10 miles, people train for weeks and more to do one. For those that run a 5k and are in great shape, I've read they can complete that in about 13-19 minutes. Wow. For me, it took me about 53 minutes and that was doing it as a jog/walk. While I am accustomed to getting in those kinds of miles and more in my walking, I don't do a lot of running. It stretched me for sure. And I have a new goal - to be able to jog for longer periods and to chisel away at that time until I get it down to about 30.
Maybe someone else would look at their time and choose to train and get it down to the average for a runner in good shape. Maybe someone else would look at the average for a runner and what they did and split the difference.
My point is, each person will look at the race and determine their own goal. And with that choice comes the decision on how to run it. Or jog it. Or walk it.
And that's the beauty of it. Each of us has a race set before us, the race called Life, and we get to choose how we will accomplish running/jogging/walking that race. It may look similar. It may look very different. We may be running at one part of it and almost at a complete standstill in another and everything in between.
My race is going to be different than someone else's. It's not the same race set before my spouse, kids or friends. I will use the tools I have and the knowledge I will gain to run MY race. I have my own God-given purpose that factors into that race. It's unique to me and my ability to run it is unique to me.
I think that is the best part of it all. It's unique to each of us. And in that place of understanding is where we can encourage one another and help one another to run the race that has been given each of us. No judgment about how we approach it or how we run it. Or jog it. Or walk it. No turning away when the person is struggling in their race or loses their step temporarily and falls. The opportunity exists in this race for us to not be fierce competitors but rather, a team. And teammates help each other get to the finish line and win.
My race. Your race. Our race. The goal is to run it. And stay with it. And help our teammates along the way.
"....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., fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith."
Ready? Set? Go.......