These are Racing Days

A lot of people ask me,
"Why in the world do you run marathons?" I suppose to the non-runner, marathons appear to be a form of torture (which at times is accurate), but for me, it is one of the most exciting things in my life right now (ask me sometime and I will tell you the 5 reasons that I run them). This past Sunday, I had the privilege of running in my 6th marathon which was in Louisville Kentucky. Thanks to a great friend of mine in Bowling Green and the inspiration of another dear friend, the experience was awesome. As I was driving back from Louisville, I was forced to reflect on several things that I want to share with you.
Back in 2001, I began to realize that I was going to be fat by the age of 30 if I did not start to exercise. To make a long story short, I decided to take the ultimate challenge in 2003 which was to run the Dallas White Rock Marathon. Besides being one of the most painful experiences of my life, I cannot tell you how exciting and emotional the finish was on that first marathon. As I saw the finish line, I said to myself, "You are about to finish a complete marathon." My body went numb and I actually became emotional as I crossed the tape-all of the hard work and training had paid off. I would imagine that a lot of you are longing for a different kind of finish line right now......
If you think about it, a lot of you are going through the same seemingly painful process right now in school. If you are a senior, you cannot wait to see the finish line and you certainly cannot wait to cross it. If you are a Junior you are not sure what the purpose of the race is even for at times. It was only 11 years ago that I asked the same kind of questions and God taught me a lot during those years.
Whenever I cross a marathon finish line, I am extremely excited but there is also a huge let-down after a while. The reason for this is because you have been training for months and months and it is all over in an instant. As a senior, do not be in a hurry to graduate from highschool because you will miss a lot of fun and joy while you are running your race. I know that there are painful parts to everyone's race, but God calls us to press on and to trust in Him no matter what.
I will never forget June 2, 1995-the day that I received my high school diploma. It was at that moment that I said to myself, "Well, there is no turning back now." Once you graduate from high school, you do not say, "Well, I'm going to go re-take my Junior year now and fix all the mistakes I made." Once you cross a marathon finish line, you never say, "Well, I am going to now de-cross the line and re-run the course faster." Students, enjoy where you are right now in life because these are sweet days-these are racing days for you. God does not allow us to go back in time and fix mistakes or erase regret. In these racing days, I challenge you to do your best to never look back but to always look ahead at the sure and certain hope and plan that Christ has for you.
I will take a little break from my running this week but I am already making plans to start training for my 7th marathon and I want to train harder and better than ever. I learned several mistakes that I made yesterday that I will hopefully not make on my next race.....you will do the same as you head off to college.
....And the fun thing about being a Christian is that once you cross one finish line, there is another race waiting for you just down the road that you will not want to miss.