Pit Stop: Reflection

April 24th 2010 I ran in my first half marathon, which also means I ran farther that day than I have ever run in my life. It was an incredible experience - one of those things where I sincerely doubted my intelligence level for committing money to this kind of torture, nearly talked myself out of participating multiple times, dreaded fiercely up until race day and now having finished, count it as one of life’s greatest moments so far.

I complied with all the appropriate pre-race rituals. I stuck with the training schedule (mostly!), carb loaded and drank more water than I thought was humanly possible. Race day came, I woke up around 3:30 am to eat breakfast, catch a shuttle, meet up with a girlfriend who was also running and begin the torture I was sure to unfold. 6:45 am came pretty quickly and it was time for my coral (#13) to start the race. I remember my prayer at that moment, “God, I’m needing for you to show up with a miracle here!”

Little did I know the journey I began in that race was far more spiritual than physical. It didn’t take me long to get completely swept away in the enthusiasm of an event as huge as the Country Music Marathon - Over 33,000 runners plus thousands of volunteers and spectators. Honestly, I was very much baffled by the excitement and over the top optimism just pouring out of everyone involved. Initially, I was drawn to a race of this magnitude because I missed the thrill of competition, yet I experienced ‘competition’ in a way I had never before seen. Everyone was fighting for their best time, yet also wholeheartedly rooting for the success of the person running next to them. Strangers were yelling and cheering at the top of their lungs, especially to the many runners who were wearing shirts stating their reason for running. Things like cancer survivor, “26 miles on my 26th birthday”, “On my way to loosing 150 lbs”, etc.

As I took in this whole scene, it dawned on me that this would be a perfect picture of what community should be. We are all on this same journey, headed to the same finish line. We are all struggling, hurting and trying to stay strong, but held up by the encouragement and support of those running with us. Not all the runners bought into the same training schedule, nutrition regimen or running strategy, however, they are all giving everything they have to get across that finish line.

What would our church look like if it resembled a picture like this?

What if we lived so much in community with each other that we all took down our guard and lived freely in our imperfection; we can “wear” our imperfections on our shirts- liar, cheater, worrier, drunk - and know that my brothers and sisters are right beside me cheering for my success!

What if we were so passionate about God and the way He is moving in our lives that we can’t help but have our conversations centered on Him in stead of gossip, current events, weekend happenings, media, etc?

What if we were so intentionally dedicated to our “race” that we are doing everything we can to prepare – Loading up on the Word, immersing ourselves around people that build us up and developing spiritual disciplines that make us stronger.

What if there was no judgment between us but complete pride that we all simply showed up! We are all out there giving it all we have at whatever “speed” we can.

What if we allowed ourselves to reach so far out of our comfort zone that the only hope we have is for God to show up with a miracle?

What if we were doing things so crazy that thousands of people not only stopped to take notice, but then wanted to join in!*


I finished the race. My time was not impressive – 2:38. The amazing part was that after all 13.1 miles, never once did I loose my wind and this I consider my own personal miracle, as my extremely limited training did NOT lend itself to such results. (We won’t talk about how badly my legs, knees and ankles hurt!) I’m not typically a very emotional person, but when I crossed the finish line my eyes welled up with tears. I can’t explain the feeling I had – overwhelming accomplishment, I suppose. Makes me wonder how much better it will be to hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have completed the race!”




*Borrowed from an awesome devotional written by Tammy Farris – while my ideas are more from a runners view point, hers are from a spectator’s stance and it’s VERY good!