I have finished the race!

Yes, that is a Biblical reference. More on that later...

I had the opportunity to run in a half-marathon race on Saturday, which was my 2nd ever organized race of that distance. I did quite well for myself the first time, in 2007, and expected to do quite well again, especially given my recent training results. I even had a glimmer of hope to beat my previous time of 1:49:33, though I knew that would be a long-shot.

Much to my surprise, however, this Saturday would not go quite as planned. The weather was not great, with a strong rain/thunder shower lasting literally right up until the very start of the race. The temperature was a bit warmer than I had hoped, in the mid-60's. The air was humid and the course was strewn with puddles, both large and small.

At the start of the race, I felt good and my pace was pretty normal, compared to recent runs. But after only about 4 miles of the 13.1 mile course, I began to feel fatigue setting in, which was far too early and gave me cause for concern.

By about the 7 mile point, I was badly out of breath and I had to break stride and walk for a few minutes. From that point on, it was a series of run-walk-run-walk spurts, extremely unusual for me. I can count on one hand the number of times, in training, that I had to walk-out or cut short a planned training run, so this was very a-typical.

What this did was to present me with a very new challenge. The question of whether or not I could finish the race had not even entered my mind before the start, but by the 10th mile marker, I had serious doubts that I could actually complete the remaining 3.1 miles, walking or otherwise. But something rose up within me each time the doubt appeared and I was able to silence it by saying, even out loud several times, "I will finish what I started."

And I persevered. 11 Miles. Then 12. Then past where we started, with the finish line still nowhere in sight. Yes, still doing some walking and some running, but all the while continuing to my goal. Finally, the finish line came into view and somehow, I found that last little reserve to finish under somewhat of a sprint, though I am sure I wasn't moving that fast.

I had done it. What, at the outset, was supposed to be a test of speed and pace turned out, in the end, to be a test of endurance, perseverance and determination. My final time, officially, was 2:25:15.

Back to that Biblical Reference. 2 Timothy 4:7 records Paul's words, saying, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." I gained a bit of a new understanding of those words this past weekend.

You see, for the past 25+ years as a Christian, hearing those words, I always thought of those words as "I have WON the race." But that's not what Paul said. He said, I have FINISHED the race. You see, the race God sets out for each of us to run is a personal race. It is not a competition. We are not trying to beat someone else to the finish line. God merely asks us to endure all the way. Endure the heat of trials. Persevere through the storms of tribulation. Navigate the obstacles along the way. Be determined to finish strong.

And while Paul was speaking about the totality of his life-long race, I believe there is a bit of truth to be found for the race set before each of us daily. Some days, the race will seem effortless and the finish line will come quickly. Other days it will seem as if you're about to drop along the way. But God asks us to persevere. To FINISH the race. And in finishing the race He sets out for us, we will find the ultimate victory!