You Are Not Alone

I survived my first 10K!
A part of me wants to say, "I survived my LAST 10K!" But while that could be true, and I have no intentions of running another, I do not have the power to predict the future. Considering all the variables that go into making crazy and sometimes life changing decisions, it is only fair to recognize that there are a few (very few but still existent) combinations of variables that would result in the repeated occurrence of me running a 10K...Just not any time soon.
It really wasn't a bad experience. The weather was perfect. I had trained sufficiently so that I was able to maintain confidence in my ability to finish all the way to the end. Running with other people also made it more interesting. Here are my observations.
Running with others is motivating. I spent the first two miles running along side a young guy I had just met on the shuttle ride to the starting line. I wasn't trying to race him, but I also didn't want to fall behind. Just keeping up was enough encouragement to push myself forward. After the two-mile mark he dropped back and I was left to run the next three mile loop on my own. No worries. In the words of Joe Banks, "some doors you just have to go through alone." That's life. And all my training had been solo runs anyway. So onward I went.
As I began to near the turnaround point of the loop, other runners started passing me going the other direction. Here I made a decision. I'm not in this for the win, so I might as well have fun and encourage others. I gave a thumbs-up to every runner I passed as a small way of saying, "we've made it this far. You can do this." Since every runner loops back on this mile-and-a-half stretch, I gave a thumbs-up to every single one of them...but not all of them noticed.
Most of the other runners saw my sign of encouragement and reciprocated the sentiment in some form. But there were still a few who probably didn't even know it was happening. I could have been offended--that seems to be a popular response in our society these days--but instead it just made me sad. I wasn't sad that they didn't notice me. I was sad that they missed out on a potentially encouraging and motivating moment in the midst of their trial. 
How did that happen? Why did they miss it? The common factor in each instance was the intensity of their focus. Each and every one of them was so singularly focused on the road in front of them and the goal ahead (or the music in their headphones) that they missed out on the comradery and community around them. They could not be encouraged because all they could see was the trial. That is just what the enemy wants.
Don't get me wrong. Focus and perseverance are very important in both running and life. When we don't have focus we end up all over the place and we find ourselves giving up long before the race is done. If we are going to persevere--which we are called to do repeatedly in scripture--we must keep our focus on the goal. However, like all good things, our enemy has twisted that focus and caused us to believe that if we are to persevere, we must focus on our trial. As I recall, that didn't work out so well for Peter.
When Jesus came walking out to the boat in the middle of the lake during an intense storm Peter decided he was going to join Jesus. He said, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." And Jesus did. Peter steps out of the boat with the intention of walking to Jesus, and as a result Peter walked on water. "But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.'" Peter lost sight of the goal and focused on the trial. Those are the moments when fear and doubt slip in and we begin to sink. 
We think that by focusing on the trial we will be able to navigate it and overcome it. We need to focus on the problem in order to find a solution. Yet in our attempts to find our own solutions we miss out on the solutions and comforts that God provides. We find ourselves floundering in the storms of life trying to convince Jesus that we will come to him just as soon as we get this situation all sorted out. 
Often we look at this passage and think, "Peter blew it again. What a dunce. He just can't seem to figure this whole faith thing out." But I have to give Peter some credit. Yes, he lost sight of the goal and took his eyes off Jesus. Yes, he allowed himself to be distracted by the storm. Yet when he found himself sinking, he didn't try to swim for the boat. He didn't try to find his own way out. Peter's first response was turning to Jesus. "Lord, save me." It is a simple prayer, and one that we ought to use far more often instead of trying to find our own solutions. Peter sought Jesus in the midst of his trial, "Lord, save me." And what was Jesus' response? "I'm going to let you flop around for a while to make sure you learn your lesson, you dunce." NO! Matthew tells us, "Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him" (emphasis added). If you want to know how the story ends, you can find it in the gospel of Matthew in chapter 14.
Back to my run. When we focus on our trials we can miss out on God's provisions. One of the greatest ways God has provided for us is by giving us each other. We were not designed to run this race on our own. From the very beginning God knew that it was not good for man to be alone. And from the very beginning our enemy has been trying to separate us, divide us, and get us alone because we are easier to discourage, demoralize, and devour when we do not have the support of the body of Christ to remind us who we are and whose we are. 
The race is long, and the race is hard. But yesterday I discovered that the race is more bearable, more enjoyable, and even more successful when we run it together. So let us look for ways to run with others, to encourage others in the race. And let us be open and ready to receive encouragement from others as we fix our eyes on the goal; a goal which includes community.