.10686

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

So, it’s probably no secret that I’ve become a wee little bit addicted to a few things over the last couple of weeks. The first thing is Hebrews 12, the second is race analogies & the third is ‘Live Like That’ by the Sidewalk Prophets. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsjZ94K7UQs&list=RDCsjZ94K7UQs&feature=share

While it's been several days since I finished up the trifecta of racing blogs on mile one, two & three of the 5K, something is still pestering me. It's the .10686. You know I don't get caught up with numbers. They rarely hold meaning for me, but this is important. Cause .10686 is how much longer you run after the three miles to finish. You are often so close you can see the finish line from that place. 

Several years ago now, I ran a half-triathlon with a dear friend. The ‘race’ consisted of a 1/2 mile swim, a 15 mile bike ride & a 5K run. I still have no idea what possessed me. It might have been that I was quickly approaching 40 or that I was on one of my diet exercise kicks or that I simply didn't want to get left out of something that might be monumentally fun. I have to admit that this infernal quest of mine to experience 'all things fun' has gotten me into some of the most ridiculous situations. Most, I wouldn't dare put into print. Seriously. 

Anyhoo, I managed not to drown in the swim & fared pretty well on the bike aka I didn't tip over & fall into a ditch. When I got to the run I was relieved. Running is my favorite. I took off & got into the zone... I was amazed how good I felt. I just ran... & ran... & ran... & ran... however, the longer I ran, them more I began to wonder how far I had actually gone. It seemed like forever. This was by far the longest stinkin’ 5K of my life. 

Finally, I came across some girls running the opposite direction. I asked breathlessly, "Where is the turn around?" 
"Oh just up the way about a quarter of a mile."
"This is the longest 5K ever!" I wheezed. 
"Oh honey", replied one gal, stifling a laugh, "you passed that turn around a long way back. The 10K turnaround is just around the next turn."

Well, ohhhhhhhhhhhhkayyyyyyy then...

Sometimes, my life outside of a race, feels a lot like this.  It’s long & arduous. Sometimes I take a wrong turn or miss one altogether. Sometimes I feel like I may be too tired to finish. & to be honest, there have been many times where I’ve wondered if what I am doing in my step by step, day to day, is worth anything at all.  

This really got me thinking about the finish. Unlike a physical race, I have no idea when I am going to be done with my life. If I did, I’d probably be treating it like a 5K. I’d be starting up slow, finding my pace & would be saving up my energy for the end so I could finish well. 

In light of my lack of foresight, the way I look at running the race of my life should be much different from that of a 5K. I need to look at each & every day as my last. I just don’t have the luxury to sit back on my laurels & wait until I’m in my 70’s or 80’s to begin living a radical life for Jesus. I just might not have that much time.

Oh yes, I know that if I choose to live this way, it will be scary. It will likely not make sense to anyone outside of God. People might call me a wackadoo. But I can’t think about that stuff. Jesus called me to mission. A mission to take each & every moment I have in this race to reach out to others & to bring Him glory. This is what I long to leave behind when I finish. Lives changed because I ran here. Lives changed because of Jesus. The author & perfecter of my faith.  

Carry on dear runners… carry on. 

"I didn't pay attention to times or distance, instead focusing on how it felt just to be in motion, knowing it wasn't about the finish line but how I got there that mattered.” -Sarah Dessen, The Truth About Forever 

Mile three

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) 

I have a knack for flunking driving tests. Each state I’ve lived in, I’ve managed to flunk out the first time I take the written tests. Every. Single. Time. Thing is. I don’t really care about the failing that much. God designed me in such a way that I just barely have a pulse. It takes a lot to rile me & even more to motivate me to do anything outside of reading, writing & thinking. & because I don’t have what Hubs calls ‘an inner drive’, I’m not really afraid to try new things or to fail or to come in last because I fail pretty much every day & it’s all about the journey with me anyway. This drives his super driven, Type A personality crazy. 

Case in point: When we moved to Ohio when our boys were small, Hubs went to the DMV to change ove his driver’s liscense right away, even though we had like a whole year to do it. He came home with a stack of pamphlets & an instruction book for me to study. The test was ‘hard’ he said. He almost ‘failed’ he said. I should ‘study’ he said. I did manage to look up from the book I was reading to see his mouth moving but I’m not sure I heard more than HARD, FAILED, & STUDY. “Did you fail?” I asked. “ALMOST!” he said horrified. Huh… Of course by now you must realize that I promptly put the whole conversation out of my mind cause those are not pretty words & they could totally throw off my groove, not to mention this seems like a man-made system that should be overthrown by free thinking people. I mean, why do I need to take a written test on something I’ve been doing half my life. Who cares that different states have different rules… can’t we just have a utopian nation where there are no differing rules about u-turns, or trailer lights or left-hand turns on Saturday or seat-belts? Where people can drive in freedom with their knees.  A place where hanging your feet out the windows is encouraged & Bob Dylan’s “How Many Roads” is an anthem to be sung at the top of our lungs. Yes I know I am being ridiculous but can’t you see that beautiful place? 

Anyhoo, I finally scheduled my test because the rules are rules & even I can’t avoid them forever. I drove myself across town & took the test & promptly FAILED because it was HARD & I did not STUDY. I had a grand time laughing at myself on my drive home cause Hubs was right again, that silly guy. However, when I told him my little tale he was not at all amused. In fact, he was pretty well aghast. “WHAT?! How could you FAIL? Didn’t you STUDY? Didn’t I tell you it was HARD?” … yeah… about that. What followed was an age old ‘discussion’ that truly stems from our personality differences. I may have said something about going back & flunking it like 365 more times till I had my current Michigan license revoked & he might have said something about me being a ‘slacker’. I don’t know for sure. You could ask him about it if you want to see his neck vein bulge. 

I digress… apparently, this is the long way around to my third point & mile three… 

Take heart you fellow lackofmotivationites. Mile three is always where I begin to excel.  It’s about this time that my legs just keep moving; as if pulled along by an invisible force. I don’t know exactly what it is. If it’s that I finally hit my stride or that I finally come to terms with what I am doing, that I’m super stubborn or that I find focus or what. Maybe it’s a little of all these things. I’d like to think that despite other areas of my life where I lack motivation or inner drive; once started, I’m a slow & steady who is made for the long haul. Or that I’m really OK with being uncomfortable because I know somewhere deep down inside that I won’t be running forever & the finish line is just over the next big hill. 

Running is not comfortable. Unlike the peaceful, deep breathing, fluid movements of let’s say… yoga, running is intense. Everything in your body screams out to stop. Your lungs heave & burn, your arms, legs & chest ache, your stomach clenches, your feet blister. You hurt. 

This is the believer’s life. Do you see it? It is not comfortable. It often makes little to no sense. So many times our minds & sometimes bodies scream out to stop. The pain seems too much to bear. I used to absolutely hate this. I’d be the first one to dodge the yucky stuff, to pray for God to take the icky things away. But it’s been in my darkest, most painful places that I’ve learned… God draws close to us in the hurtful things. If we beg off the suffering, we can miss the bigger blessing... As our souls groan for more… more faith, more love, more peace, more strength, more hope…  He shows us who we are & just what we are capable of. Which to be honest is far MORE beautiful than we could ever imagine on our own. 

Oh our God doesn’t call us to comfort people. He calls us to begin a race of radical obedience, to dig down deep & run with perseverance, & to keep on running for the glory of Him who knows our name & our hearts.  

“Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not demanding more from yourself - expanding and learning as you go - you're choosing a numb existence. You're denying yourself an extraordinary trip.”
― Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner

Mile two or point two or whatever…

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

  

Remember yesterday when I said I’m not athletic? That doesn’t mean I don’t like sports. I really do. I love hockey & football & the Olympics & I’m a super fan of everything my kids have ever participated in. To be honest, if one of my kids were to be in a spitting contest, I would want to be there to cheer them on. Our boys were football players all the way through grade school & on up through college. When they played, I learned their positions so I would be able to understand what they were doing & where they were going to be next so I could watch them. Don’t misunderstand me, if you aren’t a wide receiver or a lineman or a half-back or a corner back, I very well might have no idea what the heck you are doing but I know what my boys did & what they didn’t. To be honest, it didn’t really matter how well they played, I cheered like a maniac anyway. Cause they were mine & they are awesome.

This brings me to my second epiphany courtesy of the Spunk Days 5K… as I rounded the corner after the water station, I passed my girlfriend’s house. She was sitting out front in her lawn chair cheering on the runners & drinking what I can only assume, was her second morning cup of coffee. As I stumbled on by, I waved & she shouted some encouraging words my direction.

 I love this part of the run. Seriously. 

In fact, there is very little I like better than encouragement. It is my favorite. All along the route there were people lined up along the road cheering for us… even some of the participants panted out these words as they passed me by. 

“Great job!”

“Keep going!”

“You can do it!” 

Something about their presence & those words spurred me on. My pace picked up. I ran harder. I ran better. 

Hello? Do you feel the spiritual implications of what this could look like if we became a people of encouragers? Not just with our words but with our actions too?

So often I see what Hubs calls ‘the walking wounded’. People so beat down by life that they can barely put one foot in front of the other, let alone look you in the eye. Sometimes the people of God give the worst encouragement. They say things like, “Here’s a Bible verse for you.” But they don’t stop to explain. Or “Just turn to God”. But they don’t show them how. Or “I’ll pray for you”. But they don’t. While as well meaning as these words can be, more often than not they cause more pain & to be honest come off trite at the very least. Don’t shoot the messenger here people. You gotta put a little love & action behind your words if you truly want them to mean something. For reals. 

I mean, what if, when we observe our brother take a risk for the cause of Christ, instead of muttering under our breath that he’s a whackadooradical, we run alongside him & shout, “Whoooohoooooo!” “I’m here to support you.” “Great job!”  “I’m so stinkin’ proud of you.” & “Because you stepped out in scary faith, here’s what Jesus promises you in His Word.”

What if, when we see our sister struggling under a burden too heavy for her to bear, instead of looking the other way, we put our hand on her shoulder & affirm, “You are precious.” "You matter." “I’m here to walk with you.” “Keep going!” “Jesus is here & He will sustain you. Let me show you how.”

What if, when we watch someone struggling in their sin, instead of talking behind their back, we gently take them aside & say, “I love you.” “I’m here to hold you accountable.” “I know it’s hard but you can do it!” & “I’ll pray WITH you.”

Simple words. Full of love. Offering hope. 

Cheers from mile two people!

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”-Mother Teresa

Mile One...

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) 

I’m not the slightest bit athletic. My body, while compact, doesn’t move with any real amount of speed & I have absolutely no amount of coordination… I can barely chew gum & walk at the same time people, let alone throw a ball, swing a bat or run while thinking ahead to my next move. For real. However, regardless of what my body can physically do, my mind doesn’t exactly acknowledge this reality. I mean, I want to try everything… even though it’s likely to end badly… with a band aide. Not to mention I often ‘think’ I’m moving at the speed of light, can clear a building in a single bound & am joyfully oblivious to how much I suck. 

Here’s a case in point. I’ve been religiously training for a triathlon in July. This means biking & running & avoiding swimming every day. Feeling my body get stronger & my fat get tighter. It’s been glorious really. But this past weekend my twelve year old daughter & I ran a 5K at our town’s summer festival. She wanted to do one to get ready for cross country in the fall, I wanted to do one to show her the importance of training. She had only ran one time & I had been hammering away at it since the snow cleared on the trail. I was gonna show that little chick who’s boss. Whooohooooo!

Yeah… I’m sure you know where this train wreck is headed. 

As we approached the starting line, I looked her up & down & winked. That. Was the last time I saw her. She took off like a flash & I, being older & wiser, took off like a turtle. 

Let me just say that 5Ks are an interesting ‘place’ to people watch. There are so many different types of people, representing various ages & from many different walks of life running along the road together. This became very apparent to me as these people began to pass me by… effortlessly most of them. 

At the head of the pack were the guys running for time… they were focused, driven & pretty well ‘lapped’ me… then there was the awesome guy in a wheelchair, the pregnant chick who was 'running for two', the guy pushing a running stroller with two babies in it, some teens who ran for a bit, walked for a bit & laughed a lot & finally a whole gaggle of long legged walkers who appeared to me to just be out for a social stroll. There were fat people, skinny people, tall people, short people, athletic people, not so athletic people. There were people wearing expensive running gear, kids in basketball shorts, women in  specials from Target (I know this because Hello? that’s what I was wearing) & one guy in jean shorts… which I want to explain but I’ve pretty much got nothin’. 

About half way in & right around the time I passed the water station, I was hit with a spiritual epiphany. I can say this with complete assurance because the Hubs confirmed it later by sharing some similar thoughts & we all know he’s paid to have spiritual epiphanies. 

To be honest, as I'm typing away here I'm discovering that like a respectable three point sermon, I actually have three things to share here… one for each mile I ran… ha!

But for the sake of time & because I love nothing better than to leave you with a cliffhanger, today, I will share the first one…

So like I was saying before, right as I passed by the water, it came to me…  our spiritual journey looks a lot like a 5K. Many times a seemingly arduous one. I mean, here we are running along, very often looking at those around us, wondering if we are doing it right. Are we are dressed right? Are we running fast enough? Will we look weak if we stop for water? If we stop to walk? If we stop to rest? & what about our time… Will we finish well? Will we finish first? Will we finish last? Will we finish at all? 

Here’s the thing about running a 5K & truthfully about running the race of Christian life. Comparing ourselves to others has no place & what others are doing in their race shouldn't matter (unless of course we are talking accountability, which in this case, I am not). What does matter is you. The air in your lungs. The forward movement of your legs. The pounding of your feet on the pavement. 

When we run well, we keep focus. We don’t worry about everyone around us. We don’t worry about how fast they are or if they have better sneakers than us or what time they might get or even where they may place. We breathe deep. We move forward. We hydrate. We walk when we can’t run; we rest when our body fails us. & we finish. We finish. 

When we live well, we keep focus. We don’t worry about everyone around us. We don’t worry if they are more spiritual than us or if they have better gifts than us or if they know more Bible verses or are doing more important things for the Kindom. We breathe deep in the knowledge that our Savior is with us. We move forward as the Holy Spirit compels us. We hydrate with the Word of God; in His plan & purpose for OUR lives. We slow down when our spirit is weary; we rest in the One who loves us. & we finish. Oh yes people. WE finish. 

“Some people have a warped idea of living the Christian life. 

Seeing talented, successful Christians, they attempt to imitate them. 

For them, the grass on the other side of the fence is always greener. 

But when they discover that their own gifts are different or their contributions are more modest (or even invisible), they collapse in discouragement and overlook genuine opportunities that are open to them. 

They have forgotten that they are here to serve Christ, not themselves.”
― Billy Graham, Hope for Each Day: Words of Wisdom and Faith