In December 2023, I ran 13.1 miles as a participant in the Reggie Half Marathon in Jamaica. Since then, I have run that distance (and longer) in Jamaica and the United States as I train for the Marine Corps Marathon this October in Arlington, VA. Yes, you heard me right; I will be running a marathon! Maybe you are wondering," Why in the world would you run a marathon?" Believe me I have asked myself that question many times too! Truthfully, I have really grown to love long distance running, and God has taught me some amazing, spiritual lessons through my training that I would like to share. Enjoy Part 1 and 2 of lessons I have learned.
I (wrote this blog after running the Reggie Half Marathon last December, but the lessons still ring true today!And I am so excited about the many more God is teaching me and will teach me on this journey.)
PART 1
(Before I ran the Half Marathon, I started with a 5K, and then 10K and then a Triathlon).
One lesson that God has taught me this year through physical training is if God calls me to do something, no matter how hard it is, it is worth it. If you were to tell me a year ago that I would be running a half marathon, I would have laughed in response! No way! I was barely able to run 3 miles. But little-by-little, step-by-step and mile-by-mile, I increased my distance that I was able to run. It was hard adding another mile after 4 miles. I remember that last run before my 10K; I thought I was going to die! It was an amazing day of intercession to get to the end. As the time grew closer to the 10K race, I wondered how I could complete another mile of running on race day. However, God was so faithful as I received encouragement from Him, Dan and others to continue. During the 10K, I felt so good and made it to the end with a strong finish. Dan, Anna and Tyler were my cheering team on the sidelines, and I received encouragement from new friends I made along the way. Many times throughout my training period, I just wanted to be able to run 6.2 miles without more practice. I was so focused on the end destination that I almost missed the growth journey God had me on. I realized that I had to go through the many practice runs, building my endurance and strength, in order to be fit enough to finish a 10K. When I finished the race, I was able to look back and see that my physical accomplishment that day was only achieved through hard work and consistent training.
This is the same lesson that God is teaching me spiritually! So often, I just want to skip ahead or have someone else walk up the mountain for me, but I would miss the precious lessons that God has for me. I just want to be a better mom, without having to go through the daily choice of intentionally prioritizing my children, meeting their needs, and training them in Kingdom values. Or I just want to be one that can be a peacemaker in relationships while desiring Dan to do all the peacemaking in our marriage. Instead, I need to accept where I am spiritually in the areas in which God wants me to grow. Then I must allow Him to do the hard work in my heart and life, training me to grow daily in these areas towards the goal of being more like Jesus in the future. Of course, this requires me to welcome the process and the journey up the mountain! Even when there are days when I stumble and fall, days where I overreact with my children, or times I choose not to confront one of our staff, I have the choice to continue to move forward. Instead of giving up, God uses my mistakes and failure to teach me how to stay on course. With Him as my spiritual trainer, I learn to apologize or confront the next time and continue to grow little-by-little, day-by-day. Just like training for a marathon, the process of running the life-race God has set before me is hard but worth it! Years from now, I will look back, will see how much I have grown, and will be grateful I said "yes" to the journey of spiritual growth in my life.
Thank you, Jesus, for knowing who God designed each of us to be while realizing where we actually are. You are not surprised or afraid, but just gently guide us step-by-step to grow into that person You created us to be!
PART 2
The second lesson I have learned in this journey is to stay in my own lane and let others run in their lane. God taught me early in our missions' journey the importance of humility. He taught me I can learn from ALL people: people younger than me, people gifted differently than me, people from different nations, and even from my own children. Since I naturally love learning, I am always eager to learn from the people God places in my life. Therefore, when I started running more seriously, I relied heavily on Dan ( who has run a marathon), or other long-distance runners, for advice and wisdom. Through listening to others, I learned a lot and still value others' experiences and advise. However, there was a point when I stopped running "in my own lane" and tried to run in Dan's or other people's lane. For example, at a 10K, my first race, I was looking to other people and seeing what they did instead of following the running routines to which I was accustomed. For instance, there are water stations so often along the road at the race. During my training runs, I drank water beforehand and afterwards but not during my run. However, at this 10K, I saw everyone else drinking the water at every station so I thought I should too! Compound this with the fact that I am still growing in setting boundaries and saying no, it led me to accept water at every station when the nice volunteers offered it. In fact, I had water in my pockets because I could not drink it all, yet, I continued to take more along the course! The result: my body was not used to this constant influx of water, so I felt bloated and sick after a few stations. I realized that I was looking to other people and trying to be like them instead of focusing on my lane and running my race. For the Reggie Half Marathon, I was so much better at saying "no, thank you" to water and listening to my own body. I am realizing that everyone is running the race towards the same goal, but I need to stay focused in my lane and run my race following the wisdom of how I am designed.
I would like to share one more funny story from running that exemplifies how we need to run our own race in "our own lane". It applies to a physical race, but also our spiritual race. When Dan races, he likes to save his energy by not talking with others during the race. Based on his experience, he encouraged me during my first 10K to save my energy in the same way. If you know me, you know that I am such a people person! This was hard advise, but I tried it for awhile. Then, when I reached the halfway mark where the runners thin out, I started encouraging people who were passing me on the course and even those that were lapping me. I actually gained energy by doing this and made friends along the way. So for this half marathon, I knew that for me to be successful, I needed to encourage others before, during, and after the race! By encouraging others, I am actually encouraging myself too. By just being Carole, I was able to be myself from the start to the end of this half-marathon and enjoyed every moment of it!
This lesson applies to my spiritual journey too. Often, I fall into the comparison trap and think I am not as good as that person or I am better than that person. Comparing myself to others only drags me down. Everyone is on their own race, and I need to stay in my own lane spiritually. Jesus is the author and perfecter of my faith and has lessons tailored just for my life. I am going to run my spiritual race differently than Dan or others. I will be more emotional , will engage more in- depth in conversation or will talk readily to more people, but that is who God wants me to be. It is how I was designed to 'run' this life for Jesus! When I stop looking at other people racing through life, trying to be like them, I will begin to let God show me how to run without growing weary in the lane He has set before me. I need to allow myself to encourage other people to continue running, whether they are lapping me or are behind me.
I am so thankful for the physical, running journey this year and all the lessons learned. How can I sum up what this has made me realize in my spiritual life? First, I am thankful for the journey of following Jesus and desiring to be more and more like Him. I am grateful for where I was 5 years ago, the hard journey of growing in character, as well as where I am today. God is not done with me yet! Though
I have a lot more training to go to look like Jesus, I am more ready for the journey after this season. I am looking forward to pushing through hard days and breaking through spiritual barriers that have blocked or held me down in order to know Him better. Even now, I am excited to say "yes" to all that God has for me and am willing to go through the process of becoming who God designed me to be. Even in the mess and process of growing, He is trustworthy. Because of this truth, I can do hard things, and I will stay in my lane, running the race He has called me to!
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