I just recently started back
running after taking a break from it for quite some time. I remember I was up
to 5 miles non-stop I was so proud of myself, but life happened and I got
really busy and distracted. Once you stop it’s really hard to get your
endurance back up, so I started back running this past week.
Now everyday that I would get out
and start running I would look at my distance watch and just say let me just
make it one non-stop mile today... every time I would get exhausted. I would
look at the watch and get so frustrated that I was that tired and not even
halfway there. I’d get so disappointed I would just start to walk. This
happened over and over again, then a friend of mine said, “it’s not about
speed, its about endurance.” I thought about those scriptures that say, “the
race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong...it’s to the one who
endureth to the end.” So yesterday I started running and decided not to look at
the watch, not to watch the time, but to just focus on what was right in front
of me, one step at a time. The task at hand was not looking up but just
thanking God for where I was at that moment. Before I knew it I had run two
miles. I had to thank God for those two miles, it wasn't five, but it’s a great
start for me to get back to the five.
As I celebrated with my hands in
the air, it made me think of life in so many ways. It made me think how we set
out with these huge goals for ourselves and they seem so hard to reach. They
seem so impossible, and when we have small victories we don’t even stop to
notice them, we don’t stop and say, “God thank you for where I am right now.”
Life and its circumstances distract us, and we get frustrated because we feel
that we’re running out of time. You may not be at your goal yet, but what you
need to know is that with each step you get closer. Take some time to stop and
thank God for where you are, stop focusing so hard on the finish line and enjoy
the race. Each step toward your goal is a victory, you can’t get
overwhelmed with how far you have to go... you just need to focus on one step
at a time. Keep going.
Tyler
Perry.
