The Long Run

Press on in the hard times. That’s when “things” happen.

The backbone of a marathon training plan is “The Long Run”. Its accomplishing several different things in the body – and mind, but for me it’s a lot about preparing my body for the pounding that’s coming in the race ahead, it’s about training my mind to keep going when my legs are sore and tired, it’s about keeping my mental discipline when my body is tired and my form – my muscle memory – starts to break down. It’s about just doing the time. 

Sometimes the view is pretty, busy, and distracting . . .fun and full of life. But other times part of the long run can be dark, gloomy . . . .and lonely. It’s those times when you’re far from home, you want to just be finished but there you are in the middle of nowhere. 

All you can do is reach down inside and ‘press on’. Those parts of the run are not fun but quite honestly, that’s when “things” happen. That’s when I see the hidden things around me. That’s when I hear the whir of a bird’s wings as it darts through the air. That’s also when I can sense the slightest nuance in my form that though ever so subtle can cause an injury after thousands and thousands of steps. These are the times I become a better runner.

The Bible tells us that life on this earth is “The Long Run”. Sometimes it’s fun and full of life (and we all know that this is our expectation – our demand), but many times it’s dark, gloomy and lonely. 

We are challenged to not “jump the course” to a happier path but to run the race set before us. Sometime life, no, rather God, takes us where we don’t want to be. There is no mistake that there is nothing fun about these times. But we need to remember that this is when ‘things’ happen. 

That’s when we begin to see the hidden things around us. That’s when we hear the whispers of The Master. That’s when we can sense the slightest nuance in our character that, though ever so subtle, can cause great damage to us and those around us if left unchecked. These are the times that the Master Potter creates His masterpieces.

Last night I listened (again) to a sermon entitled “Suffering in Hope”. Philip reminds us that when you hear sounds of pain in a hospital it makes all the difference in the world if they’re coming from the Oncology unit or the Maternity unit. One is a pain that brings death, but the other is a pain that brings new life . . .and joy . . .joy that infinitely outweighs the pain.

We are running the long run and many times it is dark, gloomy, and lonely. We often run the race in pain and grieving – groaning. But we can endure because for us, we know it’s a pain of childbirth – of new life. We know that these finite sufferings are building up, for us, an eternal weight of glory.

Run the race in such a way that you may win. Press on in the hard times. That’s when “things” happen.