The race is not hard. I anticipated leaving home and walking into a lifestyle full of all the hardest situations. In essence I anticipated being tested by God. Being pushed to my absolute breaking point in every area of my life. I thought I was going to breakdown into tears with huge life altering moments every day. Don't get me wrong, those moments will happen, and have happened; however, they have been greatly outnumbered by His blessings and His grace.
I'm learning that God doesn't need to put us through a fire to grow us. He can if He needs to, but I think much more often He chooses to grow us out of grace and mercy; breaking chains and granting freedom; encouraging and empowering; fighting for us, alongside us, and enduring the fight so we can enjoy the victory that He's already achieved.
See, growing up in the world, more specifically in the athletic world, the only way you got better at something was by enduring the pain. For example, you don't get stronger if you don't push yourself past the breaking point. Your endurance doesn't increase if you don't put yourself through a little pain. I didn't learn how to take someone down without getting taken down a few times myself. I learned to work hard if you want results. The problem it creates though is the mindset that growth only comes from hard work, and it can't be a gift. Which I'm experiencing isn't always true, Jesus has done the work, for me, on the cross. It is a gift.
One of the areas of my life that He's been growing me in is my influence in the world. When He showed me this it wasn't a painful breakdown, it was through the gentle loving voice of a squad mate. It didn't hurt at all. Instead it felt great, and it was so encouraging to see that I've got the gift to lead people, not just physically, but spiritually too. The gift to lead them to faith, to show them truth, to show them the better life. You see, so often I've sat back and let other people lead, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when you hide what God has made to be seen, you do Him a disservice. After all you don't light a lamp and put it under the table.
God made me uniquely. He made me to reach people in a way that others might not, simply because I put off a different vibe. Which should be reason enough to stand tall and say everything that God puts on my mind to say; however, so often I fall into the mindset that someone else will say it better. I forget that different doesn't mean better or worse. It simply means different.
Be different. It's not hard.
