Recently I have taken up the hobby of running. (Sort of) Truth be told I am actually enjoying this somewhat and I have let a particular individual in my church invite me to run in a 5k race that is happening early November in Nackawic. The really crazy part of this proposition??? I accepted!!! What is wrong with me? Ah well, I think I will survive and truth be told at the age of half way to 70 it is probably time I took getting in/staying shape a little more seriously.
I have discovered a bit of a pattern though when I am running. I tend to start strong and feel very good and usually as I end my run I feel good, but there is a point in the middle of the run that my body begins to crash a bit or perhaps second guess my sanity for embarking on such a venture. Typically at this point it would be much easier to find a bench, a rock or a squirrel to sit on and call it a day as it pertains to my run. This is what I call my "Mile 3 Moment" in each run.
It is at this point when I am faced with a choice. Do I wrap it up and walk home or do I press on and finish my run. I would like to say that I get this right every time and just the right song comes on and launches me to the finish line in my record time, but that isn't true. The journey to being in shape is not an easy one for me, but I feel the most fulfilled when I do press on and finish strong even if that means I limp to the finish. :)
Isn't this how it happens in life? We can be cruising along feel really good about our surroundings and how things are going and then "WHAM" it feels like we are hit right between the eyes with life and it's trials and the wind is taken out of our sails. Mile 3 tells us it would be easier to give up, (it is) complain (it is) and to quit (it is). Truth be told what is easy isn't the most beneficial. In the moments when my stubbornness kicks in and I continue to waddle my little legs along the trail are the moments when my run feels the most complete and most fulfilling. I don't break any land speed records, but finishing and not quitting makes the task so rewarding and is ultimately is the most beneficial for my body I'm sure.
Let me simply encourage you with this thought and challenge:
When your "Mile 3 Moments" come, keep going. Don't freeze and continue to put one foot in front of the other until you cross that line. Mile 3 passes, but only if we keep moving forward and the reward is at the end of the race. No matter what you are facing today, keep going and trust God to give you the strength to get you through. I believe it was Winston Churchill who said, "When you are going through hell, keep going. Don't stay where you are."
Paul says it this way,
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." Philippians 3:12 (emphasis mine)
Mile 3's come and go. My choice is do I stop and let them end my journey or do I face the resistance they provide and celebrate as I grow stronger each time I pass them by.
Press on my friends. Press on.
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