Well y’all, I did it. I completed another race!
Okay, by another I mean my third. In the grand
scheme of things, it really isn’t that
impressive considering it was only a 5K (3+ miles).
But, I did it.
As many of you know, I played baseball in college.
Unlike hall of famer Ricky Henderson, I was not
known for my speed. In fact, I often heard coach
yell, ‘Hey Quine, you’re running like you have a
piano on your back!” Not an Electric Baby Grand
Piano, either; the Grandest of Grand Pianos! Which
is why for me, running these races mean so much. It
is a goal that I work I can work towards. It is a
goal that also helps me stay in shape. When I have a
race to prepare for, I become more mindful of how my
body is feeling. As time goes on, I am realizing
that I not as young as I used to be. Before, I could
run three miles without stretching and without much
preparation. That isn’t the case anymore.
It takes a lot of work for me. Preparing for a race
requires me to think through not only the obvious
like, when will I run today, but the more difficult
questions regarding health…particularly diet.
Honestly, running a 5k doesn’t require much change
in my diet. I can continue to eat poorly, drink high
calorie coffee drinks rather than water, eat more
fried food than green stuff, and still finish under
30 minutes. Essentially, I can do what I’ve always
done and get by with a decent time but with no real
change.
That bothers me though. It bothers me because I have
two items on my bucket list I want to cross off
soon. They are to run a half marathon and then a
full marathon. Yes, you read that correctly.
Your pastor has a dream to run a marathon.
The thought of this frightens me…and exhausts me.
Which is why, up to this point I have not actually
pursued signing up for one. Actually, I never really
shared this with anyone. Usually when the thought
comes up, I lie down until it passes.
I scare myself out of doing it with the “what if”
questions. What if I hurt myself? What if I am the
last person to finish? What if I don’t finish? What
if the race is on a Sunday? What if that is the day
Jesus comes back and I’m at mile eight when he calls
everyone back? Talk about a waste of time!
Sure, there are a lot of things to go wrong. Yet the
things that could go wrong do not outweigh the
thought of accomplishing such a goal. Ultimately,
there is so much good that can come from this. In
addition to crossing off an item on my bucket list,
my heart and health will benefit from the training.
I will have proven to myself that I can do something
I only thought about doing.
I’ll discover again, I hope, that I do have what it
takes, the discipline, to do something as
challenging as this.
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There is an obvious connection here to our faith.
Love is a discipline and Love requires discipline.
It is no accident that the Apostle Paul uses
athletic training as a metaphor for the life of
faith. In order to achieve the goal, God’s shalom on
earth as it is in heaven, we need to commit
ourselves to love.
But as in preparing for a race, love is not easy. It
demands that we persevere, endure, and push past our
weariness as we approach the finish line. It may
mean changing adapting our training so that we can
get past the three miles that we’ve always run. This
may require getting off the course normally used and
the route always taken.
Ultimately, the metaphor of preparing for a race
makes sense to me because while I could run a 5k and
be completely content, I know I can run both a half
and a full marathon. It may not look pretty, it may
take me a few days between start and finish, but I
can do it.
Settling isn’t an option. There is more in my tank.
Though I’ve never done training, like, training for
a race, does not mean I can’t. It will be foreign to
me and I know I’ll struggle with it, but it will
help me accomplish a goal.
So I guess what I am saying is this: I’ve set a new
goal for myself and I’m embarking on an exciting new
endeavor. As I run and begin preparations, this will
be my mantra and I hope you will say it with me. It
is the opening lines from David Whyte’s poem
Start Close In.
Start close in,
don’t take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.
(Italicized emphasis is the poet’s)
[Adam Quine. Pastor of First Presbyterian Church
in Lincoln]
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