Racing Day

I work part time in the afternoon with grade school children.

It's my third year with basically the same group of children and I enjoy them very much.

Each afternoon, weather permitting, we play outside for about 30 minutes and finish up with some races.

I call out different colors, or letters in their name, who has big brother/sister, anything I can think of for different groups to run at different times.
Let's face it they've been sitting for the past 7 hours-we've got to M O V E.


My two littlest kiddos come with me, and my daughter is typically the youngest in the group.
Needless to say she never comes in first.
But, as I have been watching her more closely I began to notice that she'd race down to the wall, turn to come back, pause for a moment and then set a look of sheer determination on her face to finish.
Knowing she wasn't 'winning'.

But, you know what? She was finishing.  Her race.

And isn't that what we are all called to do?

Finish our own race that has been set out before us.

Our races may look very different.

I have a dear friend who's husband was in a skiing accident last year that left him in the battle of his life (praise Jesus he's doing so much better than the doctors ever imagined).
Her race looks different than mine.

Another who's husband of almost 20 years died unexpectedly at their home one Sunday afternoon watching TV.
Her race looks different than mine.

Many who homeschool.
Many who work full time outside the home, then serve their family.
Their races look different than mine.

Another dear friend, who with her hubby and three precious  children, packed up and moved to Africa for 18 months to serve the  people there.
Her race looks different than mine.

Some friends with kiddo's with special needs.
There race looks different than mine.

And yours probably looks much different than mine.


That's the thing though, I think sometimes we get so caught up in the race someone else is running and how it looks like they're 'winning' and we are falling behind, and think that must mean we aren't running ours well, we just stop running altogether.

We're stuck at the wall and don't move anywhere.

It's time we stop comparing ourselves and our lives.
Run the race laid specifically out before US.

I can't run your race and you can't run mine.
But, that doesn't mean either of us is losing.

It just means we are running the race God designed just for each of us individually.

The biggest mistake racers make? Turning their head to see where the person is behind/beside them.
You lose focus and slow down. They are told to keep their eyes straight ahead on the finish line.
That's  their goal and the only thing to keep in view.

So, today, just like my sweet girl; let's pause, set determination on our faces and then R U N, our race and no one else's!

It's the only way we can finish well.

Running toward the finish line with you, where Jesus will be waiting to give us our medal,