“Running for more…”

I thought I would share with you a bit of my weekend from last week and a lesson I saw through it…..

This past weekend both 12 other people and I partisipated in an amazing experience.  As a team of twelve (plus our amazing driver) we ran in the Ragnar Relay which is a race from Lacross, WI to Minneapolis, MN. As a team we ran a total of 205 miles in 28 hours coming 30th place out of 167 teams that ran. Some people have called it crazy and some have even go as far as to say it was insain. All those descriptions are true, but that I keep coming back to that I think correctly illustrates what we did is “AMAZING!” Not only did we accomplish the challenging goal that we set for ourselves, we came together as a team and supported, encouraged and served one another. We also defeated what doubt, if any, we had about our ability to do it.

The way it worked was when our team number was called the person running would line up at the exchange line and prepare to have the baton passed to them and run their leg. Our team was split into two vans. The first van had runners 1-5 in it and the second van, which was bigger, had runners 6-12 and a driver in it. When the runners were completing their leg their van would continually check up on the runner, give them water, a cold towel or just scream out the window and encourage them. None of us had run this race before, so all being first timers we did our best to keep on track of what we were doing.  There were some times of annoyance, frustration and maybe a bit of friction, but there were also times of encouragement, happiness, joy, support, kindness, love, patience AND accomplishment.

So after spending a day or two thinking about how cool it is when a group of people who don’t all know each other can come together and not only work together, but build each other up and work through things to complete our task. I realized it put into reality several lessons from the Bible, but out of all of these two stuck out. I think our run painted a perfect mural of what it means to endure and persevere.

In Hebrews chapter 12 verse 1 we are encouraged to throw off everything that binds us and get rid of the sin that so easily entangles us so that we can run, with PERSEVERENCE, the race marked out for us.

I love running! It is one of the few things in my life that excites me and makes me feel exuberant and at the same time connected with God. When ever I pull on my shoes and stretch out I can’t hold in my excitement in. I can’t wait to hit the road and put some miles on my shoes, because when I do I feel so close to my Savior and so full of joy that I want to run my best for Him. It’s just one of those things that I love. I wish I could say that every time it came time to run it was this way, but sometimes it isn’t. Life has it’s way of twirling its self around us and tripping us as we try to run. That is when we have to remember to through off all of life’s troubles, all of the things that get in the way and keep our pace with God. Sometimes I don’t feel very excited to run and feel like giving up half way through….but something inside always keeps me going. Perseverance…..that is what keeps me going. It’s what creates the right motivation I need to look ahead, lower my gaze and lengthen my stride till I finish.

In life there are those days that we feel great and the days we feel NOT so great. No matter what life brings us though God will continue to guide and direct us. He will also give us the strength to persevere against anything the world can throw at us.

To run a lot of miles a runner needs endurance. He needs to have the physical ability to be able to run for a long time no matter what course. My first leg that I ran was a 7.9 mile run that took me down a back road and then down the highway. It was an up and down run, but very good. To run that distance I needed endurance, there was no way I would have been able to run that leg without having it. It was hot and humid which are not the most comfertable to run in, but God gave me the endurance to hold in there and pull through.

I learned what it was like to work as a team and also more importantly what it is like to persevere and accomplish a goal that we set. To me it was one of the most unique experiences this summer….So I just want to encourage you to not give up when things look hard, don’t be taunted by the way things look, but lean on God for support and trust Him, who give strength to the weary, to provide you with everything you need in your race.

 As we wake up every morning and rub the sleep from our eyes and prepare for what ever our day has in store for us, we need to remember to trust God to provide the perseveranceand endurance we need to make it through the day. With !a focused and determined attitude, there is nothing that can prevent us from crossing the finish line.

-Sky