Running the Race

Monday, February, 1, 2010

Throughout the last 7 years I have dabbled in the pastime of running, sometimes I'm consistent, sometimes I go weeks without lacing up the running shoes. Recently, I've returned to running more consistently (partly to lose the baby weight still hanging on lol). I have a running partner, Whitney, who is training with me for our first 15K this month. This morning after our run she said that when she runs alone she'll stop along the way but with a running partner she can go without stopping, that she's more aware of her breathing, and that essentially our partnership helps her to finish the run without having to stop. I feel the exact same way. Alone, I focus too much on myself and how tired I'm getting, but with her I concentrate on our pace, my breathing, and making sure she's ok so we can finish the run together.

Then I thought, what a great metaphor for relationships and it brought me back to my hubby. When we were first becoming friends our relationship deepened when he asked me to take up running with him. He encouraged me when I didn't think I could go any further, and made me believe in myself (little did I know then that our runs together would foreshadow our future relationship). I look at the other partnerships in my life (sisters, friends, colleagues) and I can see that the most successful ones are those where the other and I are supportive and encouraging. There is no envy or jealousy. There is no competition or illwill. Just a peace knowing we care about each other and want the best for the other. What a great way to look at a current dating relationship or to better examine a potential mate. Does your partner encourage and support you? Do they want you to succeed at whatever you're striving for? Are they a cheerleader for you? Do they "slow down their pace" so you can keep up, thus giving you the strength and endurance to keep going? Do they assist you in being successful?

There's a bible verse that talks about running a race (if you've never read the Bible, there's a bible verse about just about anything a person could go through in life!). Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith."

I read that and I think how much value there is in remembering once again that we were made for a purpose (that purpose is NOT to just find the One!), an important one, how life is so much like a race and the only way to get through it is to strengthen our faith in Jesus and trust that as we turn our hearts and thoughts back to him, the rest of our lives will fall into place as God intended for them to be. That's a race worth running. Along the way, you'll hopefully encounter the One, but doing so is not the end of the race. Consider it the water station along the way which will give you a partner that will run with you and strengthen you, quenching that part of your life that thirsts, but there is so much more than just that one part. You have got to endure, don't stop running, don't give up, there's so much to experience along the way, make sure you do so with the right One!