The Race

"Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!"     -Hebrews 12:1-3 (The Message)

There are not too many things I do without a specific purpose. Since my 30th birthday (ahem, yes, I am over 30 now!), I realized that I needed to be more intentional and living life with purpose. I read non fiction books. I have not been a big fan of reading, I know, I know, not a good thing, but when I do read, it must have a purpose. I watch movies for entertainment. I spend my time with a purpose. If I am going to be away from my kids in the care of someone else it must be for a purpose. You get the idea....purposeful.

Now, on the eve of what has become an annual event for me - The Mankato 1/2 Marathon - I have been thinking about this idea of purpose. I was running this past week for one of my last training runs before this race and a thought came to my mind: What purpose do I have in running this race? When I signed up for this race I had the idea to raise money for an organization like Show Hope or World Vision. I did a couple nights worth of researching how to raise money while running a race, but I didn't seem to get anywhere. Probably just because of either laziness or who knows what, that idea became a fleeting thought. So, I was running and thinking and these Hebrews verses came to me. I started thinking of the idea of persevering in this race of life. I started thinking of people I know that are having to persevere through this race of life with harder situations than I can even imagine. What can I do for them while I am running my 13 miles? I will pray. I will bring these people to the throne of God. My legs will become tired and weary, but my race will end at mile 13.1. These people do not know when their race will end. I will pray for Justin and Elise, my cousin and his wife, as they deal daily with the horrible reality of a young child with cancer. I will pray for  Joel and Christina Hoffman, two of my high school classmates, who have had to deal with a daughter fighting cancer and then once things were looking good, they lose a son in a horrible car accident. I will pray for my brother and sister-in-law as they deal with the reality of having a child with special needs, uncertain of what their future holds. I will pray for the 1.47 million orphans still in need of a forever family, like our Lucy was. These are just the people that were brought to my mind during my run. I know there are so many more. These people know what persevering through a race really looks like. Yes, my physical body will become tired. I will ache afteward, but this is nothing compared to the race these people are facing each and every day. Keep running your race and your eyes fixed on Jesus and do not quit! There is hope!