Friday, May 10, 2013

Pacing it to the Finish Line

I'm not a good runner. Besides the fact that I don't like to run, I don't run well. I have a lot of admiration for people who can run for distance, like Mike and Jeremy.

Life, however, it seems is a race. It is a marathon and each day is a new adventure and a new mile on the marathoner's journey. Even the Apostle Paul talks of life being a race in 2 Timothy 4:7, so this idea of life being a race with the intent to finish well is not a new one.

Much of the problem I have with running is pacing. I want to sprint out ahead, but I quickly burn out and wind up lagging behind the pack. I need to learn to run within myself. This also applies to daily tasks.

Each day is a new race, or a new lap on the racetrack of life. Yesterday was a good example. I worked an 11 hour day, raced off to the UPS pick-up center on my way home to get there before it closed at 7PM to pick up a package and as soon as I got home--even before dinner, since the lawn was dry I had to get the mowing in before rain and darkness.

During the mowing, the tarp covering the wood pile got tangled in the mower blades--which could have been catastrophic, but wasn't. I did discover a 3 foot long black racer snake who had been hiding under the tarp. He was unharmed and slithered off into the wood pile to help keep the vermin at bay.

After a quick shower to keep the allergens away from my too sensitive immune system, Chris and I enjoyed a fantastic dinner sitting on the back deck watching the darkness fall as the bats came out to play.

But there was still the pool to manage and continue getting ready for summer fun even though we are expecting a 37 degree overnight low on Sunday.

When I finally sat down to relax, it was after 9PM. Bedtime was less than an hour away.

I guess I need to find some pacing to get to the finish line.

The Apostle Paul must have enjoyed running, because he writes in 1 Corinthians 9:24: Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win.

My problem is that some days, I'm just running to finish with no thoughts of winning. I need to be sure I set an achievable pace so that I don't burn out, like a shooting star, too early in the race.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

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