Finish Strong... it is Friday!

My youngest daughter had her first cross country meet yesterday. Danny and I went to cheer her on. We were breathing hard just walking from the parking lot to the race course. She had to run 3.1 miles on a very difficult course. 


Running is not something that comes natural to her. She wanted to do it because all of her friends were runners. She ran all summer for conditioning and they run everyday after school. She has to work at it. But she has been there everyday for practice and working hard at something that isn't always fun.


We were a little late for the race and missed the start. I have never been to a cross country race so I wasn't sure what to expect or how it all works. We came to the top of a hill into a huge open field filled with parents, siblings and students standing all over cheering and clapping. As we made our way to the top of the last hill before the finish line the first runners were heading toward the end. The crowd was urging them on. "You can do it!" "Just a little farther!" "Run girls... run!!"


As silly as it sounds, it was a bit emotional. Such a sense of community and encouragement. Each girl running for their own time and their own goal but surrounded by people wanting them to finish strong. As we watched the girls run by, the cheers remained positive. There were fewer and fewer runners and the boys team had to leave to get ready to start their race. The cheering section was not quite as loud. We still had not seen our daughter. Let's just say that she was not the fastest runner out there.


As I waited to see a glimpse of her, I saw Danny walk to the top of the hill. He started cheering but I still could not see her. Then I saw the top of that blonde head. Slowly and steadily she lifted her eyes toward her daddy. As soon as she saw him, everything changed. She picked her head up and kept running. Up that huge hill and toward her daddy and the finish line. He cheered and urged her on. He gave her a high five and told her she could do it. She was almost there. "Keep running. The finish line is right around the corner."


She finished. Not one of the first runners. Actually, closer to one of the last. But she finished. Surrounded by a community of people that cheered her on. Urged on by her daddy. She crossed the finish line!


Life is like that isn't it? There is always that last hill. The one that looks so huge. We are exhausted and looking down at our circumstances. But if we pick our head up, there is Someone there cheering us on. He is waiting patiently for us to look up so we can see the finish line.


It is Friday. There is a long weekend ahead of us. Today, I choose to lift up my head away from the stress. Away from the fears. Away from the stuff that seems to make life so hard sometimes. My Daddy is at the top of the hill. He is cheering me on. He wants me to get close enough for Him to give me a high five. He will tell me I can do it. The finish line is right around the corner. 


"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." ~ Hebrews 12:1.