The Track Meet

"...and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith...." - Hebrews 12: 1b-2a

Last week Tom and I had the joy of watching our oldest grandson compete in his first ever district track meet. As a fourth grader, this was his inaugural foray into the world of competitive running. He was excited, and a little nervous. WE were excited, and a little nervous too. His coach had been working with the kids during PE for several weeks, giving pointers and encouragement, but running on an elementary school track would be VERY different from running in one of the huge high school stadiums.

The night before the meet, Tom called Ben to give him some last words of sage wisdom from his own days running track and cross-country in high school. I couldn't help but smile as I heard tidbits of the conversation from the other room. If I remember correctly, there were three key points in this short, but sweet speech. The first: Stay in your own lane. Second: Don't look around at the other runners. Last, but certainly not least: No matter what happens... keep running!

We arrived at the stadium the next afternoon slathered in sunscreen, toting water bottles, binoculars, and lots of hugs and well-wishes for our nine-year-old track star. As these things go, we had quite a wait before Ben's event (the 100 meter) would take place, so we watched the other children relay racing, broad jumping, and javelin throwing their little guts out. It was hot for mid-May... 92 degrees and sunny. Some of the kiddos were clearly up for the challenge, and some of them clearly were not.

One little girl, who honestly looked too tiny to be a fourth grader, was running the 800 meter. She started strong, but by the time the first lap was over she began to fall behind. Her pace slowed, and she was faltering, but to her rescue came one of the high schoolers who was helping with the meet. She ran alongside that little girl, encouraging her to "keep going" and telling her "almost there!" It was just the fuel she needed to finish well without giving up.

Another girl appeared to be running her best race. She was out ahead of everyone by a decent margin, but I thought it almost comical how much she looked around, both to her right and to her left, to catch a glimpse of those who might be overtaking her. She had the race won, but lost valuable time by taking her eyes off the finish line.

It all reminded me of the advice Tom had shared with Ben the night before... and how those words tied in so perfectly with that verse in Hebrews.

We, as believers, are also runners in a race. We have a common goal, a common finish line, but we don't all run the exact same race. We run the race that is set before us, a race hand-picked, tailor-made for us by our Heavenly Father who desires nothing more for us than to finish strong and to attain the prize.

He has equipped each of us with unique gifts and talents for running our specific race well. We needn't worry that others have gifts we lack. We haven't the need to concern ourselves with being both a hurdler and a sprinter. We simply take the talents and abilities God has given us, whatever they are, and run faithfully toward the goal, staying true to our own lane.

The race we run as believers doesn't have as much to do with who gets to the finish line first, or last, as it does with simply finishing well. Our race is hindered when we begin looking around at others, comparing ourselves to those running alongside us. We bemoan the fact that we are not faster, that our stride isn't longer, that our form is imperfect. We begin to slow, to falter, but just when we need it most, God comes along beside us and promises, "You have what it takes. You can do this, because I have given you all you need. Don't look to your right or to your left. Keep your eyes on me alone."

I suppose of all the advice Tom gave Ben, that last bit is the most important for us as Christians to remember as well. No matter what happens, keep running!

During the school meet, one of the kids got tripped by another accidentally during the hand-off on the relay. The girl took a tumble, but almost without missing a beat, she got up and tore off down the straightway again. She was probably hurt, skinned up and perhaps bleeding, but that wasn't stopping her from finishing that race. Another lost a shoe and had to finish her leg in her sock.

A lot can happen during a race... for us too. We can be tripped up, or even fall. We might have to run bruised or bloodied for a while, it's true, but as long as we keep running... no matter what... we will finish well, and the prize will be worth everything.

As a grandmother, and more specifically as Ben's "Big Mama", I couldn't have been prouder of him if he had come in first place of all the runners there that day, because Ben showed last Thursday that he understood the importance of trusting in God's giftedness for him, of running his own race to the best of his ability, of keeping his eyes on the finish line, and of enduring all the way to the end.

May it be so for all of us who run such an important race.