Run to the Finish Line

Today, as I have done in the past, I stood on Hollywood Blvd. to photograph the students from my school that run in the Los Angeles Marathon.  Only 1% of the population run in a full marathon. One young student is on track to finish the marathon within three hours.  Two of my students are on track to finish the marathon right under four hours.  They can run 26.2 miles under four hours. Both of those students ran by my spot as if they were having the time of their life and it was an easy task.  I was at the halfway mark.  They ran just like the elite runners…to get a prize.

I stay until the end to make sure I get most of our students. Whether they are at the beginning, middle, or end, they all run to achieve their goal to finish. They don’t stop. They set an example for how I need to do life. I need to run life like it is a marathon and not a sprint. That’s what Paul meant in 1 Corinthians 9:24 when he said to run the race to win the prize. You don’t stop because it gets too hard. You don’t stop because you are tired. You run as if the halfway mark is just like the beginning. 

It is springtime, and it’s time that we begin to run with endurance with whatever passions we have in life. As adults, we treat tasks as sprints, but in reality, they should be marathons. It has taken me many years to discover this because I want results immediately.

Relationships need to be marathons. We don’t just give up because we are tired, but we listen to the right voices on the sidelines who are cheering us on to endure. We run from the harmful relationships and continue to run our marathon of life with people who build us up instead of tear us down.

Careers need to be marathons. I get it that we need to move forward and out of toxic careers or job placements, but we have to be careful that we’re not just running away from troubles that we may have caused. We have to be in a marathon that pushes our careers forward.

Dreams need to be achieved with marathons. So many of us have so many dreams and goals, but we believe that they only come true for those who are fortunate, rich, or are well behaved. The truth is that we achieve goals and dreams with time of a marathon. It takes time to write a book, paint a picture, film a movie or television show, achieve an academic endeavor, learn to play a piece of music, to perform, dance, play a sport, create a craft, create a business, etc. Whatever the dream or goal is, it is a marathon to achieve the success, not a sprint.

Today let us see life as those marathon runners. Let’s run with perseverance. Let’s not give up on what we step out to accomplish. Listen to those few voices that are on the sidelines supporting you. Life is a marathon. It’s not the time that we get to the finish line; it’s that we make it all the way to the finish line.