Hebrews 12:1-3 (MSG)
1 Do you see what this means– all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running– and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.
2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed– that exhilarating finish in and with God– he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.
3 When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
Wow! I now have two half marathons under my belt. I guess, I should explain something. On December 26, 2011 I weighed 256 lbs. I was getting ready to turn 39 yrs old and I found an old bucket list. I wanted to run a marathon before I turned 40 years old. So, I started walking for 30 minutes and gradually learned to run for 30 minutes straight. My daughter found a marathon scheduled for October 7, 2012. We signed up! It is now August 11, 2012, I weigh 223 lbs and have ran a lot!
In the past few weeks I have ran two half marathons. OK, to be honest I have walked most of it, especially the last one. I injured my hip and my doctor will no let me run right now, so I walked 13.1 miles. It took me 3 hours and 45 minutes, but I did it. My daughter and I have this saying, “We run to complete, not compete.” So, when I read these verses they really stuck out to me.
Many people have gone on before me. They made it, I can too. This goes with my running and my life. There are so many times I just get frustrated and I want to quit. I don’t. I keep moving. I think of all my heroes. I think of how far I have come. In life, I think of all the things Jesus went through. All the stuff he had to put up with. He made it through. He never gave up. He asked God to put a stop to it, but he would continue on if it was God’s will. I can do that too. Why can I do it? Because Jesus has been there done that. More importantly, he is still going through it with me! If I suck it up and listen up, he will even tell me which steps to take. If I follow those steps, it may not be easy, but it will be easier!
I pass along a lot of advice I have learned on my exercise journey. I have found a lot of things that work and a lot more that don’t. Any time I can help someone else avoid a pitfall, I do. Jesus is here for us also. He doesn’t want us to fall. It isn’t enough for us to run the race we have to finish. Which brings me to another favorite saying, “Finishing dead last is better than not finishing at all, which always trumps never beginning!”