The Race

When I was a young adolescent I ran in track. My favorite part about the sport was the relay race. We had a pretty good team that qualified us for the Jr. Olympics. Due to no support from our school and lack of funds from our parents we were unable to participate at the Jr. Olympics. For years, I was the anchor for the team and because of laziness I stopped practicing and making myself stronger and better. The other teammates continued on and before I knew it I was the slowest one on our relay team. Had jealousy got a hold of me maybe I wouldn't of decided to be on their team. They needed me so I decided to run with them. I think we shocked everyone of our family members. All of us have some competitiveness in us and little did our family know that we were willing to go as far as our little legs would take us. We went from meet to meet and won ribbon after ribbon and eventually, medals. I come from a very small town. You would of thought we would of had tons of support, but we didn't. Our very own school which I love to this day didn't ever support us either. We didn't even have a coach from our school so one of the parents stepped in and trained with us. Our achievements were so great. Our parents tried to have the school support us financial so we could go to the Olympics that were held in Missouri that year. They said no. And to let you know it wouldn't have interfered with our regular school schedule because all our meets were on Saturdays and Sundays. Needless to say we didn't end up going. The memories, however, I cherish with me to this day. You might ask why were we so good? Our timing and hand offs played an integral part in our success; oh yes, and lots and lots of practice. More important than that I think was the support that we had from our families. They were our fanatics in the stands. They were the ones we ran for and loved to please. When ever one elses screams would fade away you could hear our families still hollering and going absolutely bananas. The look of amazement was on each face as we continued to beat teams that we couldn't beat in previous years. Oh, how fulfilled we felt. Life is sometime very much like a race because the Bible even talks about running this race, and the race is not to the swiftest nor the strongest but to him who endures to the end. Sometimes you run alone and other times you run a relay. Thank God there is always a finish line and a reward. Keep on running to get to the finish line in heaven and the reward which awaits you. That is just what we are trying to do as Christians: press toward the mark. I encourage you today run, run, run, don't let laziness stop you from your goal. Jesus will give you the strength to go the next lap and when you have to pass the baton, be content to know they too which run this race after you are running to reach the finish line. The race is almost over, don't faint yet, you'll get your second wind again. The Lord gave you the tools you need to finish this race which can be found in His word. Hear him encourage you and know He is your biggest fan. You can do it. You got what it takes to win!!! Your other teammates are depending on you! Stay focused and don't get distracted by the cares of this life and the fiery darts which Satan throws at you. When all the noise disappears listen for the Lord's voice saying just a little bit longer it's almost over. Your on my team and I always win!

Here are some scriptures on running: Ps. 18:29 Ps. 19:5 Isaiah 40:31 1 Cor. 9:24 Phil 2:16 Heb 12:1 Phil 3:14