Grace in the Storm (a continuing journey) The Marathon I did it. I ran a marathon. I was 50 years old. Actually, I ran 2 marathons in a single day. “Two marathons,” you ask? Absolutely. Two marathons. My first and my last. Running a marathon is easy. You just go out and start running before the sun comes up and hope to cover 26.2 miles before the sun goes down. Running a marathon is easy. Training to run a marathon is a different story. Days…weeks…and months running through the streets of the city. Three miles a day turns into 6 miles a day. One day a week is set aside to do the big training run. Eight miles one week slowly adding a mile a week until you’re running 20 miles for a training run. Bev watched me like a hawk through the months of training. She made sure my clothing was covered with reflector tape for my early morning runs. She made me carry my phone just in case I’d get in trouble. She would get in the car and drop off bottles of water at designated sights to keep me hydrated. As the day of the marathon approached, Bev started looking over the marathon route to pin point areas she could stand to cheer me on. There were quite a few areas within the first 5 miles. After those 5 miles, she wouldn’t be able to see me until I crossed the finish line. At 7am on a crisp 30 degree morning, the gun sounded as 20,000 runners took to the streets of Cincinnati. Shortly after the start, my son Jon, my good friend Tim Cyrus and I approached an overpass. Looking up at the crowd gathered to witness the start, I saw Bev…standing against the railing…and she saw me. She started waving and cheering. “Go! Go!” followed by a big “WooHoo!” And with great pride I thought to myself, “That’s my girl!” Just past the second mile-marker, I needed a potty break. My eyes were practically floating. There were extremely long lines at the portable toilets. Evidently a bunch of people had floating eyes. So Jon, Tim and I did what every guy has done at least once in his life…we headed behind a building to relieve ourselves. Just as we spotted the relief site, we heard a noise above the crowd of runners. “Go! Go! WooHoo!” I looked up and there was Bev along with Jon’s fiancé running towards us. I almost peed myself. Really. I literally almost peed myself. We were caught trying to relieve ourselves behind a building. Following this temporary delay, we were off and running again. Mile 3…Mile 4…and then one last “WooHoo!” from Bev before we would be out on the course running to the cheers and encouragement of complete strangers. The run was smooth and uneventful…until mile 20. Can you say “leg cramps?” The pain was so great that it seemed like it took an eternity to cover the last 6.2 miles. As I neared the finish line, I started looking through the crowds to find Bev. I rounded every curve anticipating her encouraging voice. Finally…with the finish line in site…I saw her. She was smiling. But she also had a concerned look on her face. I’m certain her sweaty, limping husband was an interesting site. After making our way through the finish area, Bev and I were able to be together. “Well…you did it. Good job honey.” You know, those words were better than the medal hanging around my neck. Bev was such an encourager. Not just at the marathon…all through our marriage life. In the darkest times, Bev encouraged. In the great times, Bev encouraged. That’s what she did. That’s what I miss. I came across this really sweet Bible passage. The Apostle Paul has been writing about all the saints who have died and are in heaven. And suddenly, he pictures heaven as the grandstands where fans cheer on the people on earth who are living for Jesus…or as Paul would say, “running the race.” Take a moment to read what he wrote in the book of Hebrews 12:1-3. “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses (those who have gone on to heaven), let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith…” Think about this… right now, while we are running this race called life… while we are living for Jesus (and I hope you are)… while we are facing struggles… while we are enduring hardships… there’s a bunch of fans in the stands (Christians who have already moved to heaven) who are cheering us on…and encouraging us…as we run this race. And if I look hard enough…as I round the upcoming curve called “tomorrow”…I can hear the voice of one of the fans gathered in the stands…”Go! Go! WooHoo!” And I keep pressing forward. I fully expect there will be times of leg cramps. I’m certain there will be times that I have to limp. But I will keep pressing forward. The prize of being in the presence of Jesus awaits. Keep pressing forward. Until next time…
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 22:38:40 +0000