I cannot begin to describe to you the emotions that played out within me on Sunday, but the experience was a perfect metaphor for the Christian life we are called to live. The first 13 miles were going particularly well; I felt good and was ahead of my goal pace, but as in life, things come up that bring you down. I tweaked my ankle that I had rolled a few weeks prior during my training, and this brought me to a decision that I needed to make. Do I drop out here, forfeit all the training and hours I had put in to this, and take the easy road or do I rely completely on God for the strength I know only He can provide? I decided to "run with endurance the race God has set before us." It was brutal at points, but it allowed for full reliance on God. At about mile 25.5, with the finish line in sight, God used some pretty severe cramping to remind me that it is alright to rely on other people for help. My calves cramped, my knees locked, and I went down. I looked up to find my brother, Jarrett, standing over me and trying to stretch the cramps out of my legs. He helped me up, and I continued on knowing I would not have been able to continue with out him. In this life we are continually faced with trials, with hardships, with pain, and we are forced to make some pretty tough decisions, and often have to allow ourselves to rely on the people God has placed into our lives. We have to know that He has planned this out, that we are in His hands, and that with God all things are possible.
Giving up control and relying on God did not make the remainder of the race a pain free process, but it did give me comfort to know that my God had me right where He had called me to be, and that He would get me through. This is also true in life; we must give Him control, but with that does not come an easy life. Satan will continue to torment us, and probably even up his ante, but with God we have to know that we will make it through, and be better because of it. He will use the trials to teach us lessons and the pain to show us love.
Verse:
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.
~Hebrews 12:1
With emotions high, and tears in my eyes, I finished the marathon, all 26.2 miles of it, but only through His power. It was not in my goal time, but it was definitely in His. I thought God had brought me to this race as a pinnacle in my weight loss journey, but it was so much more than that. He used it to teach me a lesson in how to continue to walk in this Christian life. He showed me that He has helped to change me physically, but that is only the beginning of this transformation, just as this marathon was only a taste of the race of life God has called me to in this world. I must continue to fully rely on God, to be wholly surrendered to His love and His call for my life, and to run with endurance the race He has set before me.
Dad and Mom after the race.
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