Marathons

Life is a lot like a marathon. You want to do the best you can and you want to clock-in with a great time...but in the end...you really just want to finish. I've been thinking a lot about marathons since I have decided to run a 1/2 marathon in just 10 short days. Who runs a marathon just a couple of months after having life-threatening surgery? I guess the same people who don't give up on their troubled marriage, the same people who get excited about a job interview after hearing "no" for a year straight, the same people who have faith...and trust God.

Due to my surgery, I have yet to gain full use of my core muscles, I'm about (fill in the blank) pounds heavier than the average marathon runner, and I have only been sticking to a strict workout regimen for about 5 weeks - but I'm still going to run. The fact that I'm alive and well enough to type and think in my right mind is enough to prove that the devil didn't win and that God got the victory - but running this marathon will just rub it in his face.

This year has been challenging. So much so that some of you are reading this and nodding your head right along with me because you know what I've been through. The rest of you will know later when I move out of the "test" phase and into my "testimony." He has healed me but I know my God and I believe that there is much more to come.

As my pastor likes to say, God didn't deliver me out of the fire - He decided to help me walk in it. That's the attitude I'm taking with me on race day. I'm inexperienced, not in the best shape, nervous and anxious...but also certain that He is going to show up and show out. Would God really get all of the glory out of a seasoned vet?

Remember that next time you find yourself in the "hard part" of the marathon we call life. Yes, you are right - you can't do it on your own, and as a matter of fact, you were never supposed to. He promised to walk with us every step of the way and I have taken Him up on that offer. He will be right beside me (and sometimes in front of me pulling me along) next Sunday, today and all of my days. Hmmm the marathon seems easier already:-)