But, if we trust in the Lord, we know we're not going in circles. If we're listening to Him daily, then we're constantly moving forward. We may feel as if we're slowly slogging through mud, but we're not. We're in the greatest race of our lives, and, once we pass the finish line, Heaven is waiting for us.
St. Paul put it best: "I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize. Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable.…"
Putting on our running shoes takes strict discipline. We have to choose to put on the shoes of salvation every morning, to impel us forward when we'd rather moan and give up. We have to make disciplined preparations. We have to choose to fill our water bottles with the Living Water of God's Word. Regularly we have to choose to eat the Living Bread of Christ, the most important Food that God gives us for the journey. We'll move faster if we choose to travel light, not weighed down by too many possessions or desires to go off-road to pick up more and more and more..... Mark Spitz, honored athlete, nine time Olympic champion in swimming, says "If you fail to prepare, you're prepared to fail."
We can't spare the time or energy to look at the runners of the spiritual Great Race on every side of us. We can't make comparisons. We alone are running this particular leg of life's journey in this particular landscape of relationships and events. Our race is only for us. In some ways, it's a race against whatever in us tries to sabotage us or hold us back. Dr. George Sheehan, author of books on running, says " It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit."
Running the spiritual race requires every bit of energy, motivation, and focus we possess. But, sometimes we momentarily fail. We lose confidence in ourselves, or confidence in our heavenly Goal. Sometimes we trip and fall. Sometimes we're injured, physically, emotionally, or spiritually. We might have to pull out for prayer, or a time to breathe and take stock of ourselves. But then we have to get up and get back in the race. Joan Benoit Samuelson, gold medalist, first women's Olympic Marathon, says "Every time I fail, I assume I will be a stronger person for it. I keep on running figuratively and literally, despite a limp that gets more noticeable with each passing season, because for me there has always been a place to go and a terrible urgency to get there."
Successful spiritual running requires a balanced approach to life, not a frenetic one. "If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion," says runner Robert Pirsig.
Reaching an obstacle in our spiritual race causes us to pull up short, to ask ourselves if we can possibly go on. How can we get around this? Conquer this? Learn how to do this? It's beyond our comfort zone, beyond our courage, beyond everything we know about our own capabilities. PattiSue Plumer, Olympic runner, says "Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about." This is also what God is all about: challenging us to become the strong, resilient, self-confident, admirable person God has created us to become - and only obstacles can push us to grow, to deepen, to become.
Running the race of life is about keeping on going until you power through the last mile. "Running isn’t a sport for pretty boys…It’s about the sweat in your hair and the blisters on your feet. Its the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your gut. It’s about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead. It’s about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with. It’s about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there’s not a single soul in sight to cheer you on. Running is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you’ve finally forged hard enough, you will have become the best runner you can be. And that’s all that you can ask for," says Paul Maurer. That's all that God can ask for from us.
Oh what joy we will have when we power through the last mile, travel through death, and reach the Lord who crowns us with the crown that is imperishable. It will all be worth it - the tears, the pains, the cramps, the blisters, the anxiety sweats, the suffering, the loneliness. God alone is our Prize - and He will welcome us with open arms as His Beloved, Beloved runner who has won the race of our lives - for love of Him. We'll cross that finish line, our arms raised in praise of our Heavenly Father, Who's been our Coach the entire way.