The Race

My daughter ran the New York City ING Marathon a few weeks ago. And finished.

When I think of what it took to do that, I am awed. It seems like a overwhelmingly colossal undertaking--almost impossible. It takes an enormous amount of training and hard work just to get yourself ready to run a race like that, mentally and physically; but then the day comes, and you're prepared. You've got the shoes, the outfit, your number on the bib--hey, you may even feel like it might be a teeny-weeny bit easier than you had expected!

And then in the middle of the race, you hit your 'wall'--when your body has basically burned up its available stores of carbohydrates, and you go into super-fatigue. According to my daughter, just about everyone hits their wall, some a little sooner, some a little later.

She hit her wall, but she still finished the race. It's as much mental as it is physical, and everyone has their own way of breaking through that wall to make it to the finish line.

Forget a marathon. For me, sometimes it's just hard to get out of bed in the morning. I would rather snuggle down farther into the covers and delay facing all that needs to be done...especially with the holidays coming up. I know that it is sacrilegious to even admit, but I move into holiday season with a little bit of dread mixed in with the jolly ho-ho-ho's. It seems so overwhelmingly impossible to get it all done in a few short weeks. I have hit my wall early this year.

Breaking through the walls of life demands more than we can possibly give. It's at that point, when we are super-fatigued and running on empty, that God steps in and does it for us. When we are not able to take one more step, God carries us to the finish line.

I may not be able to run a marathon like my daughter (or, who knows? maybe I can!), but I know I can depend on a God who loves me enough to carry me to Himself, if I allow Him to refresh me and remind me that I'm not in this race alone.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:7-8