Training

This past weekend I witnessed the culmination of weeks upon weeks of my two friends' training efforts. Sacred time was carved into schedules. Sleep was sacrificed. Muscles were sore. Perspiration flowed. And I'm thinking there may have been some blood and tears to accompany that sweat along the way as well. At the end of it all, they ran in the Virginia Beach half marathon.

This wasn't the first half marathon that they've run. Actually, this was their third of four they're running in this year, and the ninth one they've run since they initially started training. Sure, they may take a week or two off here and there in between races, and they may cut back on the intensity and the distance of their runs during the winter. But they've come to learn that in order to get ready for the next big race, they need to be in a constant state of training.

One of my friends, unfortunately, had a little run in with some e coli bacteria from her out of the country excursion the prior weekend. But she, albeit somewhat stubbornly, still ran anyway. And while I think she'd tell you that this wasn't really one of her better races, after all that training, there was no backing out. You see, some days running comes a little easier than others. Some days you feel like you're on top of the world, and you have the energy to run for miles on end. But sometimes different conditions hit. Excessive heat and humidity. Poor food choices during the day. A run in with e coli or the common cold. Even simply rolling out on the wrong side of the bed in the morning. Something just doesn't click. Everything hurts. You're gasping for air. You just want to lay down...right there...on the pavement...and sleep. But when you're in the middle of training, you get up and run anyway. And even more so, when the day of the big race comes, you force yourself to get up and run anyway!

It's my hope that I can stay in a constant state of training in my own daily life...in my spiritual life...in my relationship with God.  I'm running this race that God's set before me in order to win.  I want to ultimately finish this race well and win the prize...eternal life with my Father in heaven.  And I'm coming to learn that in order to run this race, it takes an awful lot of training and dedication.  Sacred time needs to be carved into my schedule to spend in God's word and prayer.  It takes hard work and sometimes even a little sweat equity to put myself out there and give of myself to others.  To be a part of God's church.  To sacrifice things that people around me may see as fun and pleasurable, but will ultimately hinder my ability to run this race in peak condition.

It's inevitable.  I know there are days that poor choices will cause me to stumble.  When I'm not willing to deal with sin issues in my life that come up and fester in my heart.  Life is just downright hard sometimes.  Everything hurts, and I'm simply trying to get through the day and breathe.  I just want to lay down...right there...on the floor...and give up.  But when you're in the middle of training, you get up and run anyway.  When you're training to win the most significant and precious prize of all, you force yourself to get up and run anyway!!

...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.