Nevertheless She Persisted

Good morning!

This weekend I had the pleasure of running a race for the first time in too long. The pleasure didn't lie in the breathlessness, discomfort, or mental battle of running, rather in the accomplishment. If you know anything about me, it is the fact that I am anything but a morning person. Wake up at 5:45 to go run in the cold? Pure insanity. Yet, I was committed, didn't pay to register to just give up. So off I went, reluctantly, with warm coffee in hand. As we walked over to the race, the only thing my legs were saying was how against this idea they were. The sun began to rise, the crowd thickened, the energy became contagious. You can do this.

Then the race began, so much energy, this would be a breeze! My friends quickly gained distance on me, my legs felt like lead, my head began to fog. Maybe I wasn't ready. After all, I'm not a morning person. My lungs weren't ready for this cold air. My knee has been giving me problems. Every excuse to walk ran through my head. But wait, that's the first mile marker! You've already made it a mile! The crowd is cheering. No reason to give up already, you just started!

Music filled the air, crowds on the sideline cheering, occasional bursts of encouragement from fellow runners. Next thing I knew, I passed one of my friends, cheered her on and gained energy. Passed another friend. You've got this. It's all in your head. Two-thirds of the way through, no more passing anyone, older and younger runners zoomed passed. Am I slowing down? That's it, my second wind is already gone. I can't do it. Just walk for a little bit, then you can start again. But wait, is that a grown man in a stroller with a grown man pushing him? Sure enough, he was paralyzed. His friend had a sign attached to the stroller, "You can do it!". He was motivating his paralyzed friend to make it through the race. Suck it up. You have nothing to complain about.

The end is almost in sight, I made it close enough. I can walk the rest of the way. "Let's go!" My friend cheered as she quickly caught up to me. "We've got this." So we picked up speed. Then the music got louder, the Finish line was visible. Keep your eyes on Heaven, I heard in my head. The finish line was Heaven. I picked up more speed. Heaven. Life is like a race. There's one end and everything we endure on the way is leading us to that end. Sure you can give up and leave, or you can fight the good fight and make it to the ultimate goal. So fight harder, push more, encourage others, because it is worth it. Every excuse is just that, an excuse. And we can't get there alone. He gives us other people in our life to encourage us on. Don't try to do it alone either, because you never know when you might be that one friend who pushed someone through the finish line a better person then they thought they could be. The pain, suffering, mental discouragement you feel along the way is part of the battle. It is part of what makes the accomplishment worth it. You didn't give up. Sure you slowed down along the way, but you pushed through. Keep the end in sight, remember what the suffering is for. Offer it up for others who need it more than you. Remember how much He has blessed you with and use it to get to Him. To spend eternity with Him, and being in complete joy knowing that you gave it all you got.

Happy Monday!
Until next week,
~Mina