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| Enjoying the journey |
Dear Elder Smith
. . . My message to you this week is in relation to Cross Country. Remember?!? The team spends most of the week practicing by doing stretching, long runs, intervals, short up-hill runs, etc. Then race day comes. There are lots of nerves and butterflies. Some people are nervous, some are not nervous, but have some other emotion, injury, or concern in mind.
The gun starts. The race is hard. Preparation was part of making it possible. But you still have to put one foot in front of the other and keep a good stride going. Some of the turns and some of the surfaces are rough. There are usually people ahead of you and people behind you. They are in the race so they are working too.
There are people on the sidelines shouting out praise and encouragement. Some you can’t see. They just shout: “Looking good!” Sometimes you recognize others sending helpful words like: “Keep it up! There’s two just behind you. Push it!”
The race is mostly hard. Some sections seem long, but they go by in a blur.
Eventually, you see that there is an end in sight. An unmarked line is ahead…usually just after a turn at a corner. What happens at that line?
Everyone, including those that are hurting do something unusual but typical. They turn on something that they didn’t turn on during the other parts of the race. They “bust a gut”. They Sprint!! They put everything into it. Some of the results change in the last 50 yards of the race depending on who is sprinting and who is just trying to finish. The last 25 yards matter. The last 10 yards matter. Pushing hard as if there is no finish line shows the integrity and courage of the runner. Everything, including all the skill, capability, work, practice, sweat, learning is brought to the Table.
The metaphor is obvious. It is not just your race. You are setting the table for many others to come. You are an important runner in His Race.
So when you turn the corner . . .
Keep up the Great Work!
Love,
Dad
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Dad,
Thank you so much for that inspiriational metaphor! Wow, tears were sitting on my eyes, but I did the best I could from not letting them pour out. Thank you so much! I've been sprinting this last little while, and I'm gonna push even harder than I have. My companion and I have seen so many miracles and blessings everyday from sprinting and working our hardest. It's just like you said, I'm going to sprint and give it all I've got like there is no finish line. Can't wait to see you on the other side:)
Elder Smith
