Running the Race

Yesterday my alarm didn't go off. I jumped out of bed in sheer horror that I would miss my bus but I calmed myself down when I realized it would arrive in fifteen minutes. By the time I arrived to the bus stop, which is less than a block away, I checked my time. Five minutes early. Awesome, I thought, but I thought wrong. My bus arrived another twenty minutes later with two other buses following it. I found other people like me running late.

My college years consisted of running. I ran after buses, I ran before the trains left, I ran to my classrooms, I ran across busy streets, I ran from the cops. Just kidding. But, I did do a lot of running. College taught me to be quick which meant if I wanted to sleep longer, I had to be like a ninja in the mornings. I remember having a class that started at 10:50am. It normally took me about an hour, maybe an hour and a half when it was super busy, to get to my school. I would be up by 9:00am and be dressed and out the door by 9:15am the latest. Showering at night and setting out my clothes before I slept became my best friends in the mornings. My life became very fast paced. I learned to chose between sleep or makeup and you already know which one won every time. Sleep. Always sleep.

I was thinking about how running and the act of running has been a big part of my life. For instance, my brother's high school days consisted of running too. He ran for the school's track team and won awards after awards. I would go with my family to his track meets to support him. I would watch my brother exercise daily and maintain his health. He would go running around the block every day, like clock work. He grew strength and stamina. That's what runners do. They exercise, get fit and prepare themselves physically and mentally for the track meet. It takes work, otherwise they would be running and not be able to make it past two minutes. When you run aimlessly you get nowhere because you have no aim, desire or drive.

Image courtesy of Huffington Post

1 Corinthians 9:24-26 (NIV)
Do you know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that may not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.

An aimless runner gets no where. An aimless runner runs just to run and let me add that they get tired easily. There's no passion, no desires and no goals.

For instance, it's like a job interview. There could be about fifty people interviewing for a company but only one person gets the position. Even though we know only one person can get the position, do we not prepare for the interview? Should we dress like total slobs and forget our resumes at home? Of course not! We make sure we look over the website from the company we want to work for, we make sure our resume is fresh and up to date and we make sure our appearance is professional. It's the same with our goals, dreams and aspirations. It takes work to succeed in life. We have to go to school and do well in it. We have to have a positive attitude and a positive outlook in life. We have to run this life with purpose and determination because we will make mistakes and we will get disappointed, but we don't stop there. Our constant running towards our goals and ambitions makes us great runners. In the beginning of every year, people always make goals to be achieved throughout the year. Those goals usually get pushed aside after about a month. Let's pick those dreams, visions and goals up and run towards them. Make this year a changed year.