Keep Going

I’m a runner. A few things I have learned while running, the most difficult parts of a distance run/race are the middle and the last stretch. I think that halfway point marks the, I’ve been running forever, this is never going to end, point – in my mind anyway. And that last stretch, you can see the finish line, it’s so close, yet so far away! You very nearly want to give up! This isn’t the time to quit of course! It’s the time to sprint – jelly legs and all, give it your all, who cares if you puke at the end, you made it! Right? But, it’s so far away, you can see it, just a couple more steps – are they moving away from you? Mind games of the last stretch – hate them. Sprint!

Life is like that – more like trials and struggles in life are like that. Of course, we never quite know when we are halfway through the trial, except that’s when it seems the darkest, the pressure is the heaviest, and the desire to give up is the strongest. Maybe I’m the only one who experiences struggles this way?

I was a supervisor at a Children’s Residential Inpatient Program. We would have line staff turn in their two-week notices, no big deal. I acknowledge that it was challenging work. In any case, from the day we received a notice, we literally had to plan for them to not show back up! I’m sure they had the best intentions, but something about that final stretch was difficult to make it to the finish line. If they had the time, maybe they called out, otherwise, some were never to be heard from again. It was sad really, we lost some really awesome workers and because they couldn’t make the final stretch, they compromised their opportunity to return, and potentially a reference. We’ve all heard the phrase: Finish Strong!

Ecclesiastes‬ ‭9:11‬ ‭KJV‬‬ “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”

Matthew‬ ‭24:13‬ ‭KJV ‬‬“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

‭‭We will all endure some trials/some struggles in our lives, however we must endure, we must keep going – keep running! It doesn’t matter if we are fast or slow or somewhere in between. We press on!

While picking up my daughter from school today, I saw a mother and on her shirt, the words: “WORLD’S OKAYEST RUNNER” I chuckled to myself, me too friend! And lately, not even an “okay” runner, smile.

Wherever life’s journey finds you, prayerfully not in a trial, keep going! Should you find yourself in a trial, keep going! It won’t last forever. At those points where you feel like giving up, you are just hitting those pivotal points, the halfway point and that home stretch! What a joy when we finally make it to that finish line!

*Original Photo* (Eventually caught him – was trying to teach him to ride without training wheels, I suppose he learned, haha!)