Running the Race of Life
Originally posted 17 Sep 2019…
Hebrews 12:1b – And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
School has started! Let’s be honest, I may be a bit more excited about this than my children. I love them dearly, but resuming routine and having time to actually get things done has been wonderful (I guess we know where Isaiah got that trait). And the time we do have together is even more precious than before. With the start of school also starts a fundraising race our local district puts on every year. For the next week, they learn important lessons, such as how to be a strong leader. The week finishes with running 30 laps. They spend 7 days preparing for this race. They raise money, learn important aspects of teamwork, leadership, hard work, etc. This all happens before the race even starts. And then they have an awesome celebration party at the end, with prizes for the participants.
It got me thinking. Life is a marathon, just like the race my children are preparing for right now. God has given us an instruction manual for how to succeed in this race. Have we prepared for this race? Are we learning how to be leaders, part of a team, serving others, working hard? It is all right there in our manual. Or are we moving along (likely in the wrong direction or in circles) trying to figure it out on our own?
Some days, I just want to stop and take a break. And that is ok, too. I need a breather occasionally – sometimes to take my inhaler because I overdid it and forgot to pace myself. Other times because I got off track and need to refocus towards the goal. No, really. I have a tendency to trip.
And did you ever realize the verse above purposely states the race is MARKED for us? If we just open our eyes, we can follow the path laid out before us, one step at a time. Hallelujah. I don’t need to try and figure that part out.
And the best part of all – we get to have the best party ever in the end, along with prizes. Just like the celebration the children at school get at the end of their race next week. We will celebrate for all eternity with our number one Leader, along with the rest of our team.
Like Dory says, “Just keep swimming,” we should just keep running, running, running.