Running the Race, a Spiritual Journey on Jeff & Mindy's Site

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Running the Race, a Spiritual Journey

By: Mindy Johnson

Running is a metaphor often used in the Bible, and it often mentions the race, the prize.

Nothing for me can illustrate better the spiritual journey we have, and the necessary trials better than running a long race.

My cousin, Sarah and I ran the half marathon here in Nashville this past Saturday.

Nashville's marathon/half marathon is a fun race. Full of hills, the Country Music Marathon entertains its runners and spectators with bands throughout the course.

What I found astonishingly lacking, was the thing many runners needed that day:
Ben Gay type ointment at med stations during and after the race, (there was nothing but Aquafor) and the salt packets or pretzels or anything beyond Accelerade.

It started off cold and raining, but by the time we crossed the starting line (and it took an hour)- it had stopped and was pleasant weather for racers. However, I believe the cold beginning played a part in fighting the battle to keep the muscles stretched and loose and warmed up.

Around mile 6 or 7 Sarah started to have leg cramps. She had 6 miles to go! About that time, we passed a church that had a band playing "Beautiful One." It was exactly what we needed when we needed it. We both lifted our hands to the sky, singing along and praising God.
What a moment! The band saw us, the spectators saw us, and together for that moment, we all were one praising God.
That was the lifter we needed for the next few miles.

Then Sarah was in great pain. Close to tears, close to wanted to step out of the race, she ran and walked (when necessary) and kept going.
I had no pains, I felt like I was doing fine. She told me a few times to just go without her. I said I would not leave her side. We started the race together, we would finish the race together.

A few times we stopped to stretch, and we walked on the uphills and near the end we did a lot of walking. But we finished.

Sarah had her eyes fixed on the prize. She says she could not have done it without me by her side. I don't think I would have started the race had she not been running it, I had only trained to 6 miles.

So, we needed each other, and together, arm in arm, we crossed that finish line.

We all need someone, along our journey, someone to walk (or run) with us, to keep us moving.
Someone to keep us motivated when we could just care less some days, someone to have the drive in their eyes to press us on through the pain.
Someone that we can go to when we are angry at God, that person who will stand beside us as we yell at God.
And that someone who will give us a shoulder when we are at that place where we are ready to cry and give our weakness to our God. That person who then cries with us and walks with us to that place where we can see, and feel God's healing hands on us.

And we all need the ones cheering us on, the ones who have been with us the whole way- the ones that we cry on their shoulder, but also the ones who we may not know so well, or even not know at all- and yet they clap and cheer and help us press on.
And lifting us up to to the Father.

We are all runners, spectators, those who help with the water (living water) - that necessary fuel for our race...and there is a finish line. And different from this earthly finish line- there is no pain when we cross our spiritual finish line. When we cross, we are finished.
We need no bag of ice for healing. We don't need to gasp for air.
And there is our biggest fan ready to embrace us with open arms,
"Well done, good and faithful servant!" as he places the medal of honor from his neck to ours.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Even the ones that come with pain, for great is our reward.

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