A SHORT RACE TO RUN TODAY

Busy visitor on our front porch in Dover, PA

Morgan Freeman reflected on spiders during a movie I recently watched,

"Imagine the patience, dedication, perseverance. I happen to like spiders."

Morgan's comment reminded me about something Eugene Peterson said in his book "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction". He wrote,"I decide, each day, to set aside what I can do best. Perseverance is not always the long race; it is many short races one after the other."

Lately on the treadmill I have been averaging 40 miles each week. I would like to say this requires perseverance, but taken in small distances each day, especially when watching a movie, it is actually enjoyable.....most times the highlight of my day. I've never run an actual marathon, but every week I actually exceed the distance of more than one marathon! 

And this might be best. The name Marathon comes from a race run by a Greek messenger. The legend states that he was sent from the battlefield to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated. It is said that he ran the entire 26 miles without stopping and burst into the assembly exclaiming "we have wοn" before collapsing and dying.

Chuck Swindoll suggests that if we divide any project by 365 we will find that no job is all that intimidating."If you’re running a 26-mile marathon, remember that every mile is run one step at a time. If you are writing a book, do it one page at a time. If you’re trying to master a new language, try it one word at a time. Each day set aside what you can do best." And in the end, daily perseverance will be worth it.

In October, I posted comments from Philip Yancey's "Reaching for the Invisible God". Yancey lives in Colorado and is an avid mountain climber. Personally, I think he is genius at applying life lessons from life experiences. Here is what he wrote:

"Climbing a mountain presents a constantly shifting point of view. At the beginning of the climb I face a sheer wall of granite - thousands of feet high. I'll never make it, I think. But as I get closer I see a thin path following seams in the rock and by taking that path, I hike comfortably up what had looked like an insurmountable cliff. As the cliff zigs and zags the view below changes as well.

At first I hike through aspen trees. Climbing higher, I notice that the aspens actually encircle an alpine lake, previously hidden - though not situated far from the beginning of the trail. Later I find that both forest and lake nestle in a lush valley dotted with lakes, meadows and other groves of trees. Later still I see that this valley fits into a cut on the side of the mountain and streams of water spilling from a lake tumble down several thousand feet to feed a river that runs through a canyon near my home twenty miles away.

Only when I reach the summit does the entire landscape fit together. Until then, any conclusions I might draw would prove mistaken".

There are things I will never fully grasp until I reach my "life" summit, no matter how things look along the trail. But I have a confidence - a hope that I will reach the summit and then everything will make complete sense.