November 6, 1996. November 6, 2022. 26 years. 26 miles. This morning, I woke up early for my daily run. Today's run was called a "tempo" run for one hour. It was not a random run. It was a planned run. It was a purposeful run. I've always wanted to run a marathon. I've dreamed about it and talked about it many times for several years now. Earlier this year, I believe God showed me that it was my time. On November 6, 1996, our four-month old daughter Hillary passed away from complications of a brain tumor. As I was signing up to run in another event, I noticed that the Twin City Marathon in West Monroe/Monroe was scheduled for November 6, 2022. The 26-mile run would take place 26 years to the day after our daughter passed away. I was stunned at first, and then I realized that it was not just a coincidence; it was perfectly timed and planned.
I have never run a marathon before. I have run several half-marathons and many 5k races and 10k races but never a marathon. I had to sit down and think about it. I had to have help planning and preparing, and, for me, I had to have a purpose. The purpose was obvious: I will run in remembrance and in honor of our daughter Hillary. The plan was simple: I will train over a four-month period. And, Lord willing, I will run my first marathon on November 6, 2022!
As I have been training for a couple of months now, God has shown me and taught me so many things...not just about my body or about my physical running but also about life and His plans and purposes for me. I love what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Paul says, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." Just as I have developed physically into a better runner because of the plan and the purpose, I believe as Christ followers we should be growing and developing spiritually into the people God created us to be. God has had a plan and a purpose for us even before we were born. God told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." I believe God knew us and set us apart, as well. I believe His plans and purposes for us are just as real for us today and just as available to us today! Paul says in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." I don't know what your race looks like in this life, but I do know that you have a path, a race. RUN! Run with the PLAN and with the PURPOSE God has given you. You can know God through prayer and through His Word. You can know the plan and the purpose He has for you through prayer and through His Word. It will take surrender; it will take belief; and it will take sacrifice. RUN for the prize God has for you! RUN for God's glory!
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