I’ve participated in road races ever since I was in third grade.
For 17 years I’ve been a runner, albeit a slow one.
A year ago I ran my second 25k.
Near the end, it was the people around me that kept me going—running while my knees felt like they might give way and the exhaustion began to sink in. They helped me persevere through the sweat and the tears.
While I haven’t gotten to physically run much this past year, I have been running a Race.
And this Race is nearing it’s end.
When I was younger, I would finish every 5k in a sprint. I saved my energy by running slower than necessary so I could finish strong—to soak in the applause of the people at the finish line.
But my dad once told me that if I ran a good race—if I gave it all I had—I shouldn’t be able to sprint across the finish line.
And as I near the finish line of this Race, I’ve been thinking about that.
Recently, I’ve been feeling the exhaustion that comes with giving it my all—of running hard.
It comes out at inopportune moments and I find myself crying on public buses.
Just as people came alongside me as I strained toward the end of my race last year, God has done the same for me in this Race. He gives me the strength I need to continue.
The other day, my teammate Bekah shared with me a vision God had given her. It was of Him carrying her across the finish line.
How beautiful is that?
To know that I don’t need to finish this Race my own strength—He will provide. In this last stretch, I can allow God to carry me through to the end.
How we end one season is how we begin the next. So, how beautiful would it be to start the next season in the arms of the Father?
This month we worked with a local Pastor to help build the foundation of a new church. What a beautiful analogy this was as we are constructing our own foundations for this next season of life.
