The Election Race and Our Race

Not many years ago, I was a long-distance runner. The encouragement from my son's trainer was all I needed to start training for my first half-marathon. I remember the intensity I had for that relentless training to run 13.1 miles. I wasn’t prepared for how tough training was going to be. It was incredible how intimidating a mile was in the beginning, then three, then six, nine and the full 13.1 miles. By the end of the training, I was both mentally and physically prepared. I went on to run the Oklahoma City Marathon, the Vancouver Marathon, and the Tulsa Route 66 Marathon twice. What did I prove to myself? That it was worth the time, the pain, and the mental fortitude to prove to myself I could do it. I learned to expect pain and to build the mental ability to both embark on a run with that expectation and power through it when the going got tough. It felt like training would never end. Around the middle of my runs, I felt done. I was tired. The monotonous regularity of running, running, and more running grated on me. But I pressed through it. I would often experience emotional hills and valleys but my commitment to those races meant that I ran no matter what. I ran daily. I showed up. I was consistent. Now, I’m in another race – it is to finish this life race strong – with consistency and determination. Today, I write about the sheer determination and the mental toughness it takes to say: “I can and will do this” and finish any race set before us. This election season has been a race for all the candidates and all of us -- the voter base. I compare it to this 2020 year of mental toughness it has taken for us to be in training for running this life race that has had so many hurdles to jump throughout it. What started out to be jumping a few hurdles, is ending up with a year of hurdles and mountains to climb. Spoiler alert. No doubt, there will still be a bunch of hurdles ahead in our “life” race. When it was marathon day, I remember the googly-nervous feelings in the pit of my stomach. While I know God is in control and won't be surprised by the outcome of the election, still -- I have those googly-nervous feelings today. What is America going to look like if one candidate wins over the other one? I'm sure Peter had those googly-nervous feelings when he embarked on getting out of the boat to walk to Jesus on the water. He persisted until his eyes saw the winds and the waves. Today, I continue to admonish us to "Have faith in God, and keep our eyes on Him." This race isn't finished until it's finished and we will not quit praying and believing what God imparted to us in being relentless in our prayers and actions during this election year. The Psalmist says in Psalm 119:165 "‘Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble". What are a few hurdles when we are God’s beloved children running this race of life? And, I don't believe our nation's election race is over either. Sure, there seems to be obstacles that seem ominous and we are having to navigate through them. However, God has trained us and prepared us for such a time as this and we will overcome every challenge, every obstacle and every hurdle with His help. He assures us that He is with us and when we place our trust and confidence in Him, He will ensure we will cross our finish line with rewards at the end. No question -- God has called us to be in this present race and as long as we don't quit running with our eyes on the Author and Finisher of our race and this presidential race, we will win and WIN BIG! “Let us run with perseverance the RACE marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Hebrews 12:1