Running the Race

I have a son who runs marathons. I am very sure he did not inherit that skill from me and his father doesn’t claim it either. He must be a throwback to some ancestor who did not look at running as a chore. To be honest, the only time my husband and I run is when we are chasing a critter who has escaped. (Fortunately those days are mostly in the past!)

You should also know that it is pretty hard to run and mutter under your breath (about the escaped critter) at the same time. Truthfully it is hard to breathe when running (at least for me). Breathing becomes more of an action like say……sucking wind.

Anyway…..this son has now signed up for a race in July called the Leadville Silver Rush 50 Run. This is like running 50 miles!  I am not sure if I should be impressed or wonder about his sanity.

When he posted this on Facebook I had a niece who was incredulous and asked: “You’re going to run 50 miles? All at once? You’re nuts!”
Son’s response: “No no…..that’s crazy. It’s more like 50 one-mile runs…..one after the other.”
(He may or may not have gotten his somewhat twisted sense of humor from me…..but I am not totally sure I should admit to that.)

I am not sure what it all takes to train for that type of a road race. I have a feeling the training for both life and a marathon race might be somewhat the same.I do know that running the race of life requires great dedication and perseverance.

We need people to hold us accountable in our training….to make sure that we are indeed training. For me that is people who ask how my spiritual walk is going. It is a blessing when they really want an honest answer and are honest, without judgement, in return.

I also know that to run the life race we need those who will encourage us when the road gets rough and seems all uphill. We need those same people when our feet begin to blister and our lungs are burning like fire and it seems we cannot go one more step.

I believe God puts those people in our paths for just those times. He puts them there to cheer us on, to be a witness to the path that we have been given in this life….to share in our joys, pick us up and dust us off when we fall, and to make sure we stay on the trail and reach the finish line.

I know I will not be running a marathon like my son does. He does, however, inspire me to run the race of life with perseverance. He gives me a great example of the dedication it takes to stick with it. When I cheer him on at a race, it is a great visual of the crowd of witnesses that surround us and cheer us on in this race of life.

It is a blessing this thing called life. The people we encounter and those who inspire us are blessings upon blessings.  The seen and the unseen crowd of witnesses who cheer us on.

Therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith,
let us strip off every weight that slows us down,
especially the sin that so easily trips us up.
And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
Hebrew 12:1
New Living Translation