Cathy and I began as youth ministers before we married and continued this calling into parenthood. One of our favorite song books was entitled Dare To Run, so much that we had a yard sale (or 2), made t-shirts and took our show on the road. While the front of the t-shirt mimicked the title of the book, the back include the notion of encouragement that we should lay aside all burdens, all that entraps and hinders, and run before others the race of life.
We need to run the race of life with patient and endurance. It's not a sprint
to the finish, but more like a marathon. Along the way we need to encourage each
other, for so often we may feel like giving up, but we need to keep pressing
on. We need to get rid of anything that will weigh us down. No athlete wears
heavy clothing and weights while running his or her race. In every aspect of life, we need to be dressed appropriately for the race and throw off
the things that would hold us back and weigh us down, so that we may be able to
finish the race. We, too, are to run the appointed course that is set before us. That speaks
to me of the race we are running being our race, we are not to run somebody
else's race.
Remember the movie Forrest Gump? Forrest was exceptional, both mentally and physically. While wearing braces on his legs he moved
painfully slow until one day a miracle occurred. As
we was walking home from school with his friend Jennie, a group of bullies road
up on their bicycles and began throwing rocks at Forrest. Jeannie instructs
Forrest to run. As he runs away his braces come off and he runs so fast that
the boys on bikes cannot catch him.
In July of 2014, we were dared to run; so we ran; sometimes up-hill and head-on into the gale, but we ran none-the-less. Along this path, on many occasions, we paused to encourage one another. We tossed to the side some ineffective methods and materials. We replaced bad habit with good. We ignored the noise and distractions to maintain our focus. Looking back at the course full of opportunities, we see many accomplishments, some near misses, and a few short comings. Oh, but the good far exceeds the bad.
On this last Monday on the last week of school, I dare you to run, run not to, but through the finish line.
Know that per the Supe's Kitchen on Thursday, I will take time to reflect on our many achievements. I purpose that we each make a top 10 list and compare notes.
