Finish Strong

Happy Sunday!

I hope that you are well, and that you enjoyed the weekend and are ready for the new week!  My daughter, Crystal ran and completed the Fox Valley Marathon for the second time today.  At first, I planned to do what I'd done two years ago.  That was to ensure she was at the race on time, watch her start the race, and then go to the car to sleep.  She ran 26.2 miles, just enough time for a lovely nap.  Of course, I would have been sure to wake in time to see her cross the finish line.  However, I was informed of a need for volunteers to be Course Marshalls and I signed up.  The Course Marshall stands at various positions along the route to ensure runners, and local cars and pedestrians don't accidentally collide.  I was positioned near a fork in the road, less than a mile from the finish line.  The local police basically did the hard work.  They blocked off one of the streets completely then directed automobile traffic along one lane. 

I am a perpetual learner.  So want to share a few things I learned, or was reminded of today.  

Kindness and encouragement are understood in any language, by any race, or creed.   With the state of racial affairs in this country, and the ability of our local media outlets to find and promote everything negative it was refreshing to see that everyone of any race is not all bad.  Of course, I know this and believe it no matter what they say on the news, but I worked with a young African American man today named Joe.  Joe was genuinely amazed at how friendly all of the runners, police, and local pedestrians were.  In most cases, they spoke to him first.  They acknowledged him with good eye contact, and without any fear or trepidation.  The race starts and ends in a small Illinois city called St. Charles.  St. Charles has over 93% white listed in it demographics.  Since we didn't have to worry about traffic, we just cheered for the runners.  The runners were grateful.  Some were even in tears, but thanked us for being there and continued their race.  I saw one young lady at the finish line later, she was rejoicing with her family.  Just a bit earlier, she was in tears and not sure she could make it.  Just a word or two of encouragement could be the difference in someone finishing their race strong.  1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, "So encourage each other and help each other grow stronger in faith, just as you are already doing."(Easy-to-Read Version).

Age is just a number.  You decide.  Many runners that we would consider Senior Citizens completed the race.  These athletes were not the last to cross the finish line by any means!  They were ahead of most and in the pack.   One runner was 84 years old.  Yes, 84!  He completed 13.1 miles the half-marathon goal.  Are you encouraged yet?  You should be, or perhaps ashamed as I was that I am not doing better.  Our bodies are amazing creations of God with far more potential than we realize.  God intended our bodies to last forever just like our spirits, but sin entered the picture and these bodies began to die.  Genesis 5:27 says, Methuselah lived 969 years.  Moses was 120 years old when he died, and Caleb said, "So here I am. The Eternal has spared my life these 45 years since He spoke this to Moses while Israel was in the wilderness. Here I am today, 85 years old, still as strong today as I was when Moses sent me into this country, able to fight and able to work."(Joshua 14:10-11, Voice).  Change is required.  But as the great prophetess, Whitney Houston once sang, "I believe in you, and me!"

Love and prayers, Cynthia