Steady Finishes The Race

Well, tomorrow is a big day for me. I am going to run my first 5K ever. It will be held at the YMCA here in Hoptown. My hubby was supposed to run with me, that is until plans changed and he had to go to Iran. Well, he said, "Be sure and get me the T-shirt!" Okay, Nami, good job!

Anyway, I am semi-excited about the run, yet have a little nervousness about it too. My entire goal is to finish! I just want to finish the run, not worrying about being the winner, mind you! The finishing is what is important to me. It reminds me of my walk with the Lord. Paul said he presses toward the mark in this great race of life to obtain the prize which is Christ Jesus himself. (This is my paraphrase obviously!)

One day as I was running on the treadmill, I was praying and I heard within my spirit the word "Steady." That was all, just "steady." I began to think about the old tale of the tortoise and the hare. You know the story...the rabbit and the turtle are racing each other, and because of the rabbit's conceited nature, he was very confident and boastful about winning the race. Mr. Rabbit being so fast and furious decided to lag by the wayside and catch a few zzz's for himself in the middle of the race. Yet the tortoise continued to trudge slowly along. In the end, the tortoise wins the race because of his persistence and his steadily pressing toward the finish line.

Odd as it sounds, the Lord used this childhood story to show me how I am to walk with Him daily...steady. He doesn't want me to race out ahead giving my 200% and then to decide to park myself and take a snooze. This type of Christian walk often ends in defeat, not victory. A steady, trusting walk, even if it seems slow at times, will lead us to our precious prize for which we are called...Jesus himself.

So, as I run tomorrow, my byword will be "Steady." I will trot along with my goal in sight, not going at a full sprint and then puffing out half-way. Steady in my body, steady in my spirit, steady in my soul by His grace.