1 More Day...to Focus
It was at mile 17 of my first marathon when I hit what some call the runner's wall. That is where Judy met me. Her job was to run with me from mile 17 to 20. When I saw her, I began to cry. Not that pretty cry that some ladies do. Oh no, it was a sick, pathetic cry. I told her I was tired and that I was just going to lay on the sidewalk. Judy kept up with me stride for stride and wouldn't give up. She told me my husband was waiting for me at mile 20. I told her to tell him to come scoop me off the sidewalk.
I was ready to stop in my tracks, but Judy insisted that I keep running. I tried telling her I was just too tired to take another step. I was done! No more!
I came to a halt. She grabbed hold of my shoulders, looked square into my eyes and said, "Becky, you can do this. We are going to do this together. YOU are a ROCK!" To which I responded, "I am a pebble."
Judy told me to keep my eyes on her feet. "When my right foot goes down, your right foot goes down. When my left foot goes down, your left foot goes down. Don't take your eyes off of my feet."
Off we went. Her right foot went down; my right foot went down. Her left foot went down; my left foot went down. I was moving. And as long as I kept my eyes on her feet, I was good. But the moment I looked elsewhere I would begin to cry out, "I can't do this." Judy would quickly yell back, "Get your eyes back on my feet."
Right. Left. Right. Left. All the way to mile 20 where my husband was waiting to help me run the final 6 miles.
Some days our lives feel like a marathon. And there are times when we hit a wall! We are so tired we can't seem to take one more step. Life just gets too hard and we think we have nothing left. Jesus says, "Follow me." Wherever He leads, we are to follow. No matter what is going on around us, we must keep our eyes on Him.
"And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." Hebrews 12:1b-2
He is the author - the writer. He is the perfecter - the one who perfects things.
We can keep our eyes on Jesus knowing He is writing our perfect story. Oh how I rest in that!