Run the race

I have run a few half-marathons, and usually around mile 6 or so, I'm ready to give up. Just let me crawl to the side of the road, the medic cart will be around soon. But, wait it out, keep putting one foot in front of the next, focusing on this quarter mile and *most* of the time, another wave of energy will carry me the rest of the way. Endurance doesn't mean that you don't feel all of the uncomfortable feelings that come with running the race. You can train and eat right, but running 13 miles is rarely going to be an entirely enjoyable experience.

We can see the similarity with life, right? It definitely has its ups and downs. And, I find myself often tempted to ask, "Why us?" We are His children and He loves us. Why hasn't he reached down, healed Chad completely, and fixed this once and for all?

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" Hebrews 12:1

The truth is there is so much more to this than what we can see. I am thankful that He has allowed me to see some fruit from our trial. I have had a good number of people tell me that our journey has strengthened their faith. That's everything. What is our purpose on this earth? To glorify God and bring others to Him. People are watching. What are they seeing? Who can be helped by our response to the trials that life brings?

Another factor that propels me through the tough miles is hope. One of the great things about running is that one minute you are in misery, cramping up, gasping for breath, barely able to put one foot in front of the other, and the next minute all of that is forgotten and you are running like a gazelle, breathing easy and feeling great! So, there's always that hope that the next minute or the next mile is going to be amazing.

Hope is so powerful! God gives us this life-sustaining hope, even here on earth. Every hard morning includes the hope that the afternoon will be better. Every tough day is followed by a new day full of potential. We are watching and waiting for a miracle and thankful for the good moments that He gives us. And the ultimate hope He gives us in everlasting life is everything. When all else fails, and eventually it will for all of us, we have that hope and know that it wasn't wasted time.

Where does the endurance for a race come from? Many miles of training. Where does all of this faith and hope come from? Walking with God through many tough trials. Turning to Him when things get really hard, and when things are easy. If I tried to run a half-marathon without training, I *might* make it across the finish line, but I am going to be very uncomfortable and perhaps I've done some long-term damage to my body. If we try to face the trials that come with life (and they will come!) and we haven't fed ourselves with Truth, then we are unprepared, which will mean a very painful experience and potentially lifelong damage.

I pray that today is a better day. That we see miracles and blessings that God has planned for us from the beginning of time. In spite of what we see with our eyes, I am thankful that this life is not everything. Thank you, Jesus for your sacrifice for us, so that we can face this life and death with hope. I pray this all in Jesus's name, amen.

After my first half