13.1
That number doesn’t seem like anything special. For many the number 13 has superstitions that are attached to it. For me 13 seemed an insurmountable goal. Just a little over a month ago I ran my first ever half-marathon- 13.1 miles.
For months, I had been preparing for this race- conditioning my body to be able to handle the physical strain that would be place upon me during 2 hours and 30 minutes of constant running. About six weeks before the race the assistant manager let me know that she would not be able to grant me my time off request because it was our last week of spring break, and the store was going to be crazy. I understood, but was disappointed. I had been training. I was ready to go. With my goal no longer in site, I quit training. For me, there was no reason to continue if I wasn’t going to be able to complete the task I had set before myself. (Especially, when it comes to physical activity, I need to have a goal in sight.)
My eating habits also changed during this time. Carefully, I had been placing the proper nutrients into my body making sure that I was giving my body every ounce of the proper fuel that it needed to survive during the half-marathon. I still ate well, but not nearly as well as I had during training.
Then one week before the marathon, my boss posts the schedule and she has given me off the weekend of the race. I was excited. I was also scared. I had not been training for almost 6 weeks. My body was out of the rhythm of which I had gotten it into just 6 short weeks before. There were many different elements leading me to go home that weekend to St.Louis, MO and run the race. The first, being that it was a goal that I had set for myself and now I could actually scratch it off my list. The second, I had already paid to be in the race and did not want that money to go to waste. Finally, my family was going to be in town. All of my family was going to be back in St.Louis the weekend after Easter. Any excuse to spend time with my family I am on board with. (I have a niece who is 15 and a nephew who is 3 and they continue to grow like they have been given an illegal growth supplement.) My brother, Shannon, and my sister-in-law, Sarah, live down in Texas so I don’t have the luxury of seeing them that often. This was a perfect opportunity to cross many things off of my imaginary list.
Still, one thing remained: I had stopped training. I had no idea if I would be able to run the race at all let alone finish. However, I strapped up my laces and headed to the starting line.
Have you ever heard God speak to you very clearly about something in your life? Have you followed it with such passion, but then distractions and things from others make the word seem impossible or make you question what you heard? What have you allowed to distract you from what God has called you to do? How long have you been out of training? What needs to be removed for you to walk towards the starting line and tighten up your laces?
It doesn’t matter how out of shape we are. In Acts, God used “unschooled and ordinary” men. People who no one else would choose to advance a kingdom, let alone the kingdom of God. These men, however unqualified, tightened up the straps of their sandals and went to the starting line. No questions asked. No “can I do this”, “how will I make it”, “what if I fall”, “what if I have to slow down”?
