Unpopular Race

I'm not a runner - not by any means.  In fact, a bad memory from my childhood is the one where my gym teacher yelled at me, "Winn, you run like an elephant!"  Words can scar a kid for life ...

I have avoided anything even closely resembling running ever since.

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Truth is, as a believer, I am in a race. Not a race to see who is the swiftest, but a race that calls for endurance and plain old stick-to-it-iveness.  (That's a word I just made up.) A race toward Home, or rather a Journey toward Home.

"Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us..." Hebrews 12:1 HCSB

St. Paul wrote these words to Jewish Christians centuries ago, but I suspect he'd tell us the same today, "Hang in there, don't give up." God has marked a path for each one of us to go.  It may lead through valleys of discouragement and times of mountain-top euphoria but keep on pressing on. 

I'm not going to lie.  It will be a tough path, a narrow path.  Few want to go that way.  Roadblocks will be found on the path.  It will be tempting to veer off  the course. Friends, and even sometimes family, will try to pull you off the path. It won't be politically correct or popular to run this race. There's no fame or fortune in it. But, our Coach runs with us giving encouragement and leading the way. If we keep our focus on Him, we'll make it.

Crossing the finish line will be the sweetest victory a non-runner like me could ever experience.  To hear, "Well done, faithful one!" will be the ultimate!

This post was written in response to Writer's Workshop prompt 1.) A blog post inspired by the word: race.  If you'd like to read other zany responses, visit Kat's blog, Mama's Losin' It.