Tag: race

Greetings Visitors and New Beginnings Family. Pour yourself a cup of coffee, if you will, and pull up a chair for the latest edition of “Coffee with Gary”. Today’s post is noteworthy because it was suggested to me by my wonderful wife, Linda!

For many years my wife has been encouraging me to accompany her on her regular walks around the neighborhood. However, her gracious invitations have often fallen upon deaf ears. That was until Governor Evers issued his COVID-19 safer-at-home directive. Under the “safer-at-home” directive, I became infected with cabin fever. Suddenly, I felt the urge to get out of the house and join my wife on her walks. Naturally, she could not have been happier by my sudden recovery.

To record our mileage, I installed Runkeeper on my phone. In addition to mileage, Runkeeper records time and elevation climbed. After we finish the walk, I save the results for our weekly, monthly, and annual progress reports. For instance, in May, we had gone on 23 walks covering 44.6 miles in nearly 18 hours. Our average pace was just over 24 minutes per mile. Our total elevation climb was 1,969 feet. To put that number into perspective, the Empire State Building is 1,250 feet high!

It was on one of those walks that my wife suggested that I should write about our walking activities. Suddenly the gears in my head went to work thinking about how our daily walks relate to Biblical principles. Since we were only walking, I immediately thought of Ecclesiastes 9:11. A line in that passage reads, “The race is not to the swift.” From there, I thought of our cumulative totals and how they relate to Christian perseverance within the context of Hebrews 12:1-3.

Regular strolls of two miles can be more difficult for us depending on the outside temperature and relative humidity. On those days, we walk at a slower pace early in the morning. In this way, we are laying aside the weight of heat and humidity. On other days, we start walking with our jackets on just to find ourselves carrying them at the end. Ultimately, we found that it is better to leave our jackets at home and let the exercise warm our bodies. For the Christian, Hebrews 12:1-3 instructs us to lay aside the sin that weighs us down and run the race set before us with perseverance.

By walking the same route every day, I know where all the milestones are. For instance, there is a fire hydrant that marks the end of an elevation climb. On our third and final lap, I often use that fire hydrant to remind my wife that there is only one hill left to climb. That last hill is a short hill adjacent to our yard at the end of our walk. Incidentally, only those milestones ahead of us can actually encourage us to finish.

For the Christian, Hebrews 12:1-3 instructs us to keep our eyes on Jesus. No matter where we are along life’s journey, we only need to look ahead to find Jesus encouraging us to keep going. If we fail to lay aside our sins or take our eyes off Jesus, we will inevitably encounter unnecessary obstructions to running our race.

Remember the race between the tortoise and the hare? The hare possessed all the natural ability needed to win. However, he was arrogant and lazy. The tortoise, through discipline, progressed at a deliberate and constant pace. In the end, the tortoise won the race.

By following the example of the tortoise, my wife and I have logged many miles. What is impossible for us to do in a day we did in a month through perseverance. I pray the same is also true of our Christian walks.

Your fellow pilgrim in looking for a country of our own. (Hebrews 11:13-16)

Gary