I’ve never been good at running. As a child, I was always last in my school’s races. As an adult, I do not have the stamina for it. But I love to watch runners (one of my favorite Olympic sports) and I imagine that being fast and strong would feel free and powerful.

Lately (I love summers when I have tons of time to read) I’ve been learning about runners, such as Glenn Cunningham and Norm Bright, whose lives shone forth dedication, passion, and discipline. They loved to run. Cunningham’s legs were burned as a child and he was not expected to walk, much less run or become the fastest long-distance runner in the world. Bright ran even after he became blind, and it’s told that in his 80’s, he would walk around his care center with his grandnephews, as he timed the walk on his stopwatch.

Paul, the apostle, defined life as a race. I may not understand what it feels to be physically fast, but I think I sort of get the concept of a race, if nothing else, because my life feels like one. I know I have left the starting line, and I am currently running. Sometimes I feel exhaustion, as if I can’t run any longer. Other times I feel energized and renewed, with fresh vision and stamina. And I know there is a finish line waiting for me. We all get there one way or another, sooner or later.

How will I run this race of mine? That is a question I need to answer constantly. Distractedly? Aimlessly? Self-relying? Or will I run it strongly and with macular vision? It is said that Cunningham’s favorite verse in the Bible was Isaiah 40:31: “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” This is my desire, to wait on the Lord and to continually sense the strength-renewing power that comes from abiding in HIM. Oh, I have known this power many times in my race. I have been lifted, dusted off, and energized plenty of times. It is not just wishful thinking. I know this power to be real and effective. Because as I run this race, in the power of God, He gets all the glory.

I do not know when my last day on earth will be. I do not know when I will reach my finishing line. Today, I pray for strength and vision for my next lap, and joy while I run with everything I’ve got. On that day, when my race is done, I will get everything my heart ever longed for, because when I meet Jesus face to face, He will be my everything. Ah, I can hardly contain my excitement and longing! When I cross that line, those who love me should throw a party and rejoice with me, for there is no greater reward than running the race, finishing well, and obtaining one’s reward.

Glenn Cunningham, 1933

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:13-14