Only One Way to Finish

My journey started with running, so the only thing that made sense was to finish my journey with running. I retraced the steps that I knew so well two years ago at the Virginia training center. The path and the track I always set out before myself to finish. Running 5-6 times a week had become normal those two years ago before my course changed. And I had to do it again. Despite my surgery a little over a month ago, I once again had something to prove. I had returned for debriefing, and this was my chance.

I slipped away, past the barn and past the gate. Then I ran. I located a mailbox as my goal to make it to, steadied my breath, and made a decision to finish strong. I smiled and reflected about the many times I had done this same run. The times before the Lord decided to break my body for his glory. And the time I even ran in Spain before my recent surgery.

You may think I'm crazy to have done this, but I had no choice. I smiled with joy, teared up as I reflected on the many times I ran without knowing why. The encounters I had with God. The people I had prayed for who at one time had no name or face, but now my mind regularly sees their faces while their names are on my lips in prayer. My legs resisted a lot less than I thought they would being freshly rewounded. Amazingly enough, it seems as though my surgery for the removal of the metal was the right choice. I laughed because I could tell I would run more in the future.

I thought of the people I began my journey with. The ones I came to deeply love. The ones I met along the way. And the ones I wished I could hug again and tell them how special they are. I counted my steps back as I had finished my run. I had run 341 steps (walking steps that is). I praised the Lord and knew without him none of the pain and heartache of the past two years would have been worth it.

I saw the entire story this time. One that began with a girl wanting to tell the world about Christ, and one that ends with a girl who was blessed to do just that. All the bumps in the road are weaved in between. The many lessons that I have learned along the way.

I decided to finish this one strong. The way the Bible tells us to. The beginning and middle are not mentioned, so there's something significant about the end. The end is when you are tired. Finished. Often times fed up. Which is all the more reason to run. It was so much more than a physical run. It projected clearly the way I was made as a daughter of the heavenly Father. He has made me his warrior and citizen of the kingdom of God. The person who wants to stand at the gates of hell telling people of his love before they step through. And the woman who at the end of the race can say, the suffering was worth it and fades in comparison to knowing the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Thank you Lord for letting me physically run today and for letting me finish the race that we started two years ago. You are faithful.