Running

I'm a runner.

Well, by my standards, I'm a runner. At least I'd like to think I'm a runner.

Anyway, sometimes when I run I play a game with myself. It's the game of, "Reach that tree (or mailbox, spot in the road, parked car, or any other thing ahead) and then you can stop and walk." But, even playing that game with myself doesn't get me to my destination of that tree or mailbox before I have to stop and walk.

In fact, I played that very game with myself tonight. I was running up a slight incline and looked ahead to some mailboxes. I told myself what I've told myself many times before on this run: "Reach that set of mailboxes and then you can stop and walk." For a moment, it propelled me up the incline. But not for long. I had to tell myself, "I can. I can." over and over again. I knew that if "I can't" crossed my mind, I wouldn't be able to. As I ran up that incline, I had those mailboxes in my sight.

But, I had to look down. I couldn't run up that incline and make it to those mailboxes if I was looking at them. Why? Because they seemed too far away.

By looking at my feet, I was able to keep moving, step-by-step, knowing that I would reach those mailboxes, but not freaking out about how far away they seemed. Before, when I saw how far away they seemed, I gave up.

I think that, lately, I've been looking at my goal...healing, perfection, wholeness....and it's been freaking me out about how far away they seem to be. And I've been tempted to quit. Just like with running, I need to take my eyes off of that goal and place them on the feet in front of me. Now, obviously I was running alone, so it was my own feet I needed to put my eyes on. But, running in this race we call the Christian life, we have Jesus's feet in front of us to keep our eyes on. He is running this with us, every step of the way. If we keep our eyes on Him (His feet, in this case), we won't be freaked out by how far away the end prize seems.

And we won't be tempted as much to give up. We'll keep running.