By Cyndi
This past weekend was supposed to have been the Summer Beaches Run, which is a five mile run here on Jacksonville Beach, but tropical storm Fay caused it to be postponed a couple weeks. Oh well, I guess I’ll have two more weeks to train for it. It will be only my second race to run. My first one was the 15K Gate River Run in March where you run over two bridges, along the St. Johns River, through some beautiful neighborhoods and into the Jaguars’ stadium to finish. So when I was watching the Olympics last week and saw the 38 year old Romanian woman win the women’s marathon, I was greatly inspired to keep up my running! And not just running for my health, which is good, but also so that I am able to compete in a race if I want to.
As we all know, the Bible compares our Christian walk to a race in some verses. Phil. 3:13, 14 is one of them -”forgetting those thing which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”. And another favorite, Heb. 12:1-”Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
One of the things that I really enjoy about running in a race is the people that line up around the route to support you. In the River Run I was surprised to see whole families and groups of neighbors outside in their front yards with signs and drinks, yelling encouraging things to all the runners. People would spray you with water to cool you down, have music, like the theme from “Rocky” playing as you went by, just about anything to cheer you on, encouraging you to finish the race. It reminded me of that “great cloud of witnesses” the verse in Hebrews speaks about.
Many of us are carrying heavy weights and burdens…financial, health, family, jobs, etc.; and what we hear on the news does not always help either. But here we are, running the race that is set before us, with whatever obstacles that race may have. Are we barely making it and can we even see the finish line in sight? What about our friends, are they making it, or are they drudging along in this “wonderful” Christian walk too? Well, the Lord’s been telling me, “Can I get a witness?”, or better yet, “Will you be a witness?” He reminded me of how encouraging others were to me in my race as I was running, what about me encouraging others in their race? We all need someone to spray a little water on us when we get too hot; and who doesn’t like to hear an encouraging word every now and then?
Let’s believe and look for the best in people, not the worst; let’s look at the glass half full, not half empty. Let’s put our faith in the Almighty God, Maker of heaven and earth, in Whom nothing is impossible with, to help us finish our race. And let us encourage those around us to do the same, because when we do, our eyes get off of ourselves and all of our problems and onto Him Who has all the solutions. Throw some cool water on that depressed mom; shout, “Yes, you can!” to the family with financial losses; hold up a sign up that says “LIVE” for those with cancer; run alongside those who are crippled and cannot run by themselves! Encourage someone today, I dare you. Can I get a witness?
About cyndi