Strong or Weak, Healthy or Hurt

I am a runner...I love stories like these. And I love all the verses in the Bible about running, finishing strong, etc. I hope this might encourage you today~

At this state championship cross country race in 2010, Holland Reynolds (16) helped secure her team's champion title. You might think she did this by winning the race, or at least coming in top 5. No...she did it by literally crawling the last 5 meters across the finish line. It's a 3.1 mile course & at the 2.5 mile marker she was in 3rd place, pushing for 2nd out of the 169 runners. Then this team's top runner's legs just started to give out & cramp. Her quad muscles seized & chose to simply not work for this champion runner. She was healthy, but suddenly became weak. But she kept her eyes fiercely on the finish line. Reynolds said she did not remember collapsing but did remember crawling: “All I knew was that I had to cross that line.” Her team won the championship that year. Because, even though she crawled for her 37th place finish, her team would not have won it if she didn't cross that line.

Today, are you one of the strong runners you see finishing strong?

Or are you like Holland Reynolds here, finishing weak?

But even if you are weak, are you still healthy? Do you still have your eyes focused on the prize, the finish line, if you are hurting?

There are days when I feel as if I could sprint across that finish line.

There are others when I feel as if all I can do is crawl to it & fall down exhausted.

But it's crossing it that matters. Not giving up or quitting.