Run Your Race

I've never been good at running physically, but I know how to race when the clock is ticking and I'm behind schedule. For example, I spend the day goofing off with Pat and get home just before suppertime. You've never seen me throw a meal together so fast. Or, a friend calls to say she's coming for the weekend and, in short order, the catastrophe known as the guest room is fluffed and ready.

Have you ever run in a three-legged race? The upside is that if you lose, you can always blame it on your partner.

How about sack races? Now you're on your own, but the sack doesn't let you use your physical prowess to full advantage.

It's not that life is a race exactly, but there is a goal: finish well. How did the end of 2016 look compared to the lofty resolutions made at the beginning of that year? Were there things you wanted to do but were unable to accomplish? Did "life" get in the way of your dreams?

Regardless of how many times I set a goal and miss it by an inch or a mile, I always fall back on this beautiful promise of God: "I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)

God has plans and goals for us—good plans, full of hope and peace. You might feel like someone is holding you back from your dreams. (Remember the 3-legged race?) Maybe it seems like your life is stuck in an old flour sack and you can't break free from its constraints. Maybe you've already broken your New Year's resolutions, or you didn't make any in the first place. "Why bother? I never keep them."

Let's be patient with ourselves. Let's be kind to ourselves. Let's remember that God has plans for us. We should probably take a little time to talk to him about those plans. "Is this the way, Lord? Am I on the right path? Show me where I'm messing up. Help me see what I should be doing." There's a song that says, "... have a little talk with Jesus." Yup, that's what we should do.