I don’t know
about your physical education class when you were a kid, but my class always
participated in the annual presidential physical fitness test. Is anyone out
there groaning yet? As part of that test to assess kids’ fitness levels, things
like pushups, sit ups and pull ups were measured. But the thing which caused me
the most dread- and the least success-
was the 600 yard run. Now, is anyone
out there groaning? For this overweight, uncoordinated kid, the run was not a
test of my fitness, but rather, a means of humiliation and failure.
If you’re
not familiar with the 600 yard run, let me break it down. In short, it required
some hyped up kids running around the football field twice to measure their
personal stamina and speed. Doesn’t sound too bad, right? Perhaps, if you’re a
long distance runner, you wouldn’t sweat the field one bit. But, for me, year
after year, I feared it, anticipating the worst possible outcome: face plants,
side aches and of course, coming in last.
And, sure
enough, each time I ran this race, clumsy me would surface as I endeavored to complete
the run. I’d start out, trying to run fast, with my blue Nikes pounding the
grass. Sometimes, at the start of the race, I’d even think, “this isn’t so
bad.”
But reality
would show up soon enough. Eventually, one by one, the other kids would pass
me. “Everyone else” seemed to finish as a herd, in a timely fashion, while I
was the one stray loser, stumbling to the finish line all by myself. And, as I
crossed that finish line (if that’s what you want to call it), the other kids laughed
at me. Fun experience with physical education- yay!
It was
further confirmation I was subpar; I wasn’t good enough. The prospect of a race
was moral deflating for me. And it started to impact my life, far into my
adulthood.
Yes, that
football field was huge when I was a child. It felt like it was never ending. And
it still seems immense as an adult. But what I see, years later, is that the
race never goes away. It just transforms into the race of life.
That’s where
the problem set in. As life began, I set myself up for failure right away. How?
I required perfection of myself. Whether it was by procrastination, eating
disorder behaviors or unrealistic expectations from ever changing achievements,
the core focus was perfection. It’s one I’m still working on to this day.
Indeed, part
of my definition of perfection involved “getting it” quickly. My entire life, I
never feeling I caught on to something “everyone else” just automatically
picked up with no problem. How’s that for a nice, tidy little lie? Ah, yes. It
tells us we’re different than “everyone else.” Comparing ourselves against
others is dangerous, isn’t it? We often lose sight of ourselves.
Let’s go
back to the race again. Runners are often instructed not to look at their
fellow competitors when they’re in the middle of a race. Why? Is it some savvy
psyche out strategy? No. Simply put, it’s to keep from getting distracted, so
he/she won’t face plant into the ground because the runner isn’t paying
attention to where he/she is going. Lesson: run your own race.
“…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run
with patience the race that is set before us.”
Hebrews
12:1
Easier said
than done? Yes. But is it achievable? Yes, it is. It’s not because we’re
perfect. It’s not even because we’re fast. Some of us pick up things at a
slower pace. But it’s about continuing the race, at whatever speed you and I
find ourselves running-or walking-or crawling. It’s about the concept from two
words, “keep going.”
“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle
to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of
understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to
them all.”
Ecclesiastes
9:11
There are
times in our lives when it appears no movement is happening. No one is immune from
frustration and setbacks. There is no “everyone else.” Each of us is subject to
“time and chance,” like Ecclesiastes tells us. I’m often
reminded of the Reverend Charles Spurgeon quote, “By perseverance, the snail
reached the ark.”
Do you feel
like a snail, like you’re losing your own race? Where are you looking?
“Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be
established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot
from evil.”
Proverbs
4:26- 27
Are you
running it, knowing God is running it with you? It’s not a corny concept; it’s
a real Truth. For every race you’ve participated in, football field or no
football field, God is running with you.
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole
earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is
perfect toward him...”
2
Chronicles 16:9
That
includes the race of recovery. In fact, recovery is a marathon, an ongoing
process. And, in that process, 2 Chronicles’ use of the word
“perfect” doesn’t mean “perfect” at all; it means focused on God.
That’s the
real challenge of our individual races, isn’t it? We’re called to live our
lives for God, not to live them perfectly. You are not alone in that challenge
and in that race, known as your life and recovery process. And you’re not defeated. God is for you, not
against you (Romans 8:31). You are meant to be a winner and to
overcome.
So, keep
going, take that next step, embrace your race! You ARE getting there!
“…let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
Hebrews
12:1
Copyright ©
2018 by Sheryle Cruse
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