running

I figured since I've been a huge running hype this last year and since I'm running a half marathon tomorrow, I would make this post about running!:) For those of you who do run long distance, you know that it's not a sprint and that it takes patience, wisdom, and heart to complete the task in front of you. There are a lot of circumstances in life that are just like that. Life itself is not a sprint, it's a long drawn out mararthon or whatever you want to call it. Just like running, it takes patience, wisdom, and heart to complete the journey. Patience to know that God is going to do what he has promised to do in his timing, not ours. Wisdom to ask God for guidance, protection, and the will to continue through every obstacle and triumph. Heart to never give up and know that God will never let us fall and will always be right there by our side through every circumstance!! If you're a long distance runner, you also know that at one point in the race, you will hit what we like to call the "wall". That wall is going to discourage you, try to convince to stop going, and to do whatever it takes to make sure that you fail. Well this same concept applies to life. There will come a time in your journey with Christ where you are going to hit the wall and wonder what the point of going on is. Another name for this wall is the devil. He comes to kill, steal, and destroy. He will do whatever it takes to make sure that you turn away from God and doubt everything. As much as we want to avoid this wall, the reality is we will hit at some point in time but what matters the most is what you decide to do after running into the wall. You can choose to become discouraged, quit, and throw away everything you have worked for or you can choose to stand up, push that wall out of your way, and press on towards the ultimate goal. The temptation to quit will be strong because it feels like the easier way out, but why give up on everything you have worked for. I don't know what God has in store for each person in this world but I do know that the gift he has in store for us at the end of the journey is better than we can ever fathom. The gift of eternal life through Jesus' death has been given us, now we just have to accept it. Nothing can compare to that ultimate gift of eternity spent with Christ in heaven where there will be no more sorrow, sin, or pain. So I encourage you, wherever you may be in your walk with Christ to always perservere, believe in what God has in store for you, and never stop believing that you will be rewarded for all the good and hard work you put into your life! God loves us way too much to ever let us turn away from him and he will always be there for you through every circumstance!!