The following is from 2010:
I used to run and my favorite place to do so was the track for it was hard to get lost on an oval track, but all too often I forgot what lap I was on, for as I ran I was always thinking on life with its challenges and opportunities. I ran my first and only marathon back in the early 80s but was totally unprepared for a 26 mile run which itself was complicated by soaking the motel bed with sweat the night before from a bug of some sort. I could take no water after the eight mile mark for I would swallow it and it would come right back up. At the half-way turn I knew it was over. At one point an EMT ran up to me to see if I needed some assistance. At another, a mounted policemen barked at me to hurry up so they could open the streets. It was a flat course but the last 13 miles were uphill. I can't remember my exact time but I finished second to last. An elderly couple waddled across the finish line before me to the cheers of a small crowd. I felt a sudden burst of exhilaration and could have passed them and finished fourth from the last but the crowd would have booed me. For some unknown reason I ordered a photo of me running. Dixie cups were strewn all around without a runner in sight and my head was down with the bill of my cap covering most of my face.
The Apostle Paul likens the Christian life to a race in Hebrews 12: 1-3 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, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
My marathon has some similarities with my Christian walk. I came out running fast, certain that I was prepared for battle, but I have since stumbled at times and at other times been reduced to a crawl. There were times that I could take no nourishment because of discouragement... and the photos in this race are memories meant not to embarrass but to elicit praise for mercies given. There is indeed a crowd of witnesses cheering on even the last runner. In retrospect, I have fond memories of that marathon because I finished. I have a great hope that I will finish this race for it is not in my hands. If it were I would not only never finish but would never have embarked upon it to begin with. My particular prayer is simply never to stop, rather to press on, for even a crawl is moving forward.
I used to run and my favorite place to do so was the track for it was hard to get lost on an oval track, but all too often I forgot what lap I was on, for as I ran I was always thinking on life with its challenges and opportunities. I ran my first and only marathon back in the early 80s but was totally unprepared for a 26 mile run which itself was complicated by soaking the motel bed with sweat the night before from a bug of some sort. I could take no water after the eight mile mark for I would swallow it and it would come right back up. At the half-way turn I knew it was over. At one point an EMT ran up to me to see if I needed some assistance. At another, a mounted policemen barked at me to hurry up so they could open the streets. It was a flat course but the last 13 miles were uphill. I can't remember my exact time but I finished second to last. An elderly couple waddled across the finish line before me to the cheers of a small crowd. I felt a sudden burst of exhilaration and could have passed them and finished fourth from the last but the crowd would have booed me. For some unknown reason I ordered a photo of me running. Dixie cups were strewn all around without a runner in sight and my head was down with the bill of my cap covering most of my face.
The Apostle Paul likens the Christian life to a race in Hebrews 12: 1-3 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, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
My marathon has some similarities with my Christian walk. I came out running fast, certain that I was prepared for battle, but I have since stumbled at times and at other times been reduced to a crawl. There were times that I could take no nourishment because of discouragement... and the photos in this race are memories meant not to embarrass but to elicit praise for mercies given. There is indeed a crowd of witnesses cheering on even the last runner. In retrospect, I have fond memories of that marathon because I finished. I have a great hope that I will finish this race for it is not in my hands. If it were I would not only never finish but would never have embarked upon it to begin with. My particular prayer is simply never to stop, rather to press on, for even a crawl is moving forward.
