A few months before leaving on the World Race, I ran a marathon. It was a crazy idea that I let my friend talk me into, but was one of the best experiences of my life.
But the entire race wasn’t all joy and happiness. There came a point, as it does in all races, where you’re about halfway through, your body hurts, your legs are protesting, and you’re mentally worn out. It’s about that time that you look up and see the half marathon turn off, and all around you runners are finishing and celebrating their run.
It’s at that point, with an end in sight, that you begin contemplating finishing as well. A half marathon is quite an accomplishment in itself. And your legs hurt. And you can’t breathe. And mentally you’re shot. So why not? Why not stop and celebrate with the other half marathon runners?
Because you signed up for the full. And because you know that if you just push past the half marathon finish line, the temptation will no longer be there. Your body will get an extra spurt of energy that will carry you through the finish line. And most importantly, you know that the victory of finishing a full marathon is so much greater than stopping half way through. You came out to run a full, and stopping halfway will never be as fulfilling as the feeling of victory when you cross the finish line after 26 miles.
The World Race is a marathon. It’s a long, hard road, with many twists and turns, ups and downs. There are rest stops along the way to fill up with water and energy bars. And yes, halfway through, the going gets tough.
It is this point that we just passed; this point in the race that we just powered through. It was difficult. Community life was getting rough. The living conditions were finally more than we wanted to handle. And to top if off, homesickness was becoming contagious. All around, people were contemplating going home. Some actually were. Watching those around you finish halfway through was tempting. Because 6 months of ministry around the world is still a really big deal.
But we signed up for 11 months. We singed up for the full marathon. So we are pushing through. We are gaining our momentum going into month seven, and pressing through to the finish because the victory at the end will be worth the fight.
