It's Not Over, Finish Your Race
The Most Important Quarter Is Here, Make It Count
Last week, on the 4th of July, I was watching the AJC Peachtree Road Race. It’s an annual 10k marathon that started back in 1970. I had no intentions in watching the race, but I stumbled my way to it. It had over 60,000 participants, and thousands of spectators. As I was watching and cheering for random strangers, God gave me the most incredible revelation: FINISH THE RACE! I’ve only witnessed marathons or races on tv, seeing it in person was amazing. While I was watching this race, I saw people of all ages, ethnicities, and even genders. The beautiful thing, is that they were all running/walking at different paces. Some people were sprinting, others were doing a slow jog, and even some people were walking. I even saw a guy with prosthetic legs running this marathon. Although they were tired, they all looked like they were having a good time. The people on the outside had balloons, and even signs to cheer the runners along. Some people had signs that said you go you random stranger, and other people were cheering for their loved ones. Watching this race, showed me that when we say life is a marathon, it means that you can slow down as many times as you want, but just run your race. Whether it takes you one or five hours, run your own marathon. The beautiful thing with these races/marathons is that you’re your only competitor. I spoke with some people who were apart of it and they all had different agendas for the race. Some people had a time they were trying to beat, some people wanted to run the whole thing without stopping, and some just wanted to get out the house and make it to the end. The people who wanted to make it to the end didn’t care how long it took, they were excited for the journey ahead. If this isn’t an analogy of how we should live our lives, I don’t know what is.
Half of the year is already gone, no one cares how you started, or what happened in those first six months. All that matters is that you finish the race. The race is yours, you are the only person in the lane. The hurdles you’ll have to jump over are your doubts, fears, anxieties and other things in your way. If you feel like the first half of the year, tried to take you out, take a deep breath, because you are still here. If there is still breath in your body, God is not done with you. Deals could have fell through, money could have gotten tight, people could have walked out of your life, but through it all you made it to the second half of the year. We are in the third quarter, this is the most important quarter in any sport. We’re now past halftime, and it’s time to check in with yourself. Spend some time sitting with your thoughts to figure out what your true wants and needs are. You may even find that the goals you set for the beginning of the year are no longer goals, and you may want something totally different. And that is okay. Figure out what YOU want out of YOUR life. The beautiful thing is you can change your mind and pivot at any time. When I’m goal setting, I find it easier to work backwards, asking myself what I want long term, helps me to plan for short term. You can take a break during your marathon, but don’t exit the track. As I was watching the race, many people slowed down, and even stopped, but they got back to it. You may not have friends and family on the sidelines to cheer you on, but their are many strangers that are waiting on you to get off the bench and into the race. So many peoples destinies are tied to you staying the course. Don’t allow what happened or didn’t happen in the first half of the year to hold you back from finishing the year strong. Jonathan Nelson has a song called, ‘Finish Strong,’ it’s so encouraging in seasons that feel heavy.
Every day won’t be your best, and things will get tough, but that’s when you must dig deep and put your faith in Jesus or whatever higher power you believe in. When you feel like things are too heavy, think back to all the hurdles God has already brought you over. Also, stop looking at the hurdles as roadblocks. You can still make 2024 the best year yet. So much can happen and change in six months, but only if you decide to finish your race! If you don’t see anyone cheering for you, know that I’m here rooting for you to finish strong! Lace up those shoes and put one foot in front of the other. Before you know it, you’ll be back running.
