Week 17 – It’s a Marathon

Hey hey! It’s been a while..I’ve been slacking on this blog. And no, I’m not running a marathon, but I did run 20 miles yesterday so that’s gotta count for something! As the months tick by, and I continue daily workouts, I can’t help but liken my preparation for Everest to a marathon.

I’m not a fan of long distance running or marathons. I love a good sprint. Where the finish line is visible from the starting line. Where I can just give it all I have at the beginning and before I know it, I’m finished. But a marathon is tricky. You have pace yourself and hold back at the start so you have enough energy to cross the finish line.

Currently in my training, my main goal is to be in shape by April while staying healthy and not getting hurt along the way. And I’ve been feeling really good about my progress so far. Even though I have been quiet on this blog lately, I’ve still been training. My weekly routine is pretty straight forward: strength training twice a week, and running about 20-30 miles a week. This is a marathon after all, not a sprint.

In a way, this training is pretty similar to how we go through life. Whether we’re trying to get in shape, lose weight or even recover from a painful life event. We can’t accomplish our weight goal with one healthy meal, or emotionally heal our soul with one good day. It takes constant perseverance to make any real progress. Yeah, we’ll all have our bad days, but continually taking one step back and two steps forward is the way real progress happens. We can’t run in a full out sprint because we’ll will burn ourselves out. We have to pace ourselves, even reenergize and refuel ourselves so we can make it to the finish line whole and healthy.

Just keep moving on
Just keep pushing ahead
Yeah, the new has come
All the old is dead
Just keep moving on
Keep your eyes on the prize
And that word in your heart

One thing that Allison and I have been pouring our heart and energy into is helping children in extreme poverty through Compassion International. This organization’s mission is to release children from poverty, meeting their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.  As a family we have been sponsoring children around the world, writing them letters, encouraging them and we even had the opportunity to meet them and love on them. What an amazing opportunity. 

But releasing children from poverty is a big task and obviously can’t be achieved overnight. It’s a marathon, right? And just like a marathon every small step gets you closer to the finish line, and every letter we write telling these children that we love them and are their biggest cheerleader makes a difference.

My personality is one who loves to make big impact fast, but what God has been teaching me is that sometimes just being diligent in the little things allows for small steps that lead to making a big difference. It could be writing a letter to a Compassion child, encouraging a friend, or modeling good character to my kids.

Consistent steps day after day finish marathons. Let’s run our race with perseverance.