Running The Race

In a sea of humanity, mostly women in pink, I ran in the Komen Race for the Cure (for Breast Cancer) 5K run this morning. It was a brisk, cool morning. My dear friend, Linda picked me up and we headed toward Dallas. I needed to upgrade to a "runner"--I had signed in as a "walker", but Linda had encouraged me to run, so I changed my mind and decided to go for it. I teach a Treadmill class at the Club, so I was use to starting out faster and then slowing down and speeding up in an interval fashion. There were so many people that for the first two minutes, it seemed like I just couldn't get around or through all of the people--finally a path opened up and off I went. There were hills (but not too steep), which made the race a lot harder than I had thought it would be. Running on a treadmill and running outside are NOT the same thing! I stuck to my strategy of running as steady as I could, taking a walking break when needed, and then sprinting for a while until I needed to return to the steady pace, and then a recovery walk. I finished in a little over 28 minutes (7th in my age group). My goal was to do it under 30 minutes, so I was pleased. This verse especially became real to me--Hebrews 12:1,2 "Therefore since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside very encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of our faith..." All those people today (a cloud of witnesses) not watching in judgment, but cheering us on, because they wanted us to finish, and finish well. When the going gets tough (you run out of gas or there's a steep hill to climb) just remember, it's nothing compared to what Jesus has dealt with physically or spiritually. He knew more than anyone how important an encourager would be to the success of "the race". That's why He sent the Holy Spirit--the author and perfector of our faith knew an encourager could make all the difference in the world. And He is so wise and so right! Have you had an opportunity to encourage someone today?