Race Weekend, Day 1

Drove to Atlantic City, NJ., to run two races this weekend. 5k today. Half marathon tomorrow.

This Floridian was thrilled to see the weather forecast earlier in the week. A cool down, lows in the 40s.

Not so thrilling was the delay of the rain through this morning bringing the cold, just long enough to make things interesting.

Thoughts crossed my mind to scratch the 5k. “This bed is warm. Who purposefully runs in the rain? I don’t have to overachieve today.”

Those thoughts didn’t win. Showed up. Surprised myself with an age group win (3rd).

These events always provide inspiration. It’s not hard to see if you pay attention. Today’s examples:

  • The 2nd overall 5k female finisher with a time of 19:38 was 10 years old. (Not sure if that’s inspirational or just mindblowing)
  • The oldest runner today was Alan Donziger. At age 83, he finished in the top 25% of all 5k runners with a time of 29:59.
  • At the turnaround on the wet boardwalk, one of the guys in front of me wiped out. He got right up and kept going. “Not the first time I’ve fallen.”
  • As I drew to the finish line, the 10k runners were looping by us. In that pack were two runners pushing wheelchairs of their disabled partners. Always crowd favorites.

To all 960 runners today, congratulations on showing up, not letting the invasive thoughts win.

See you again in the morning for day 2!

Whose Voice Matters Most

It’s Labor Day weekend here in the U.S. May mean you have more time to think. Here’s a reminder for you: Who God Says You are Matters Most.

In my thinking time already, I reviewed three conversations this week where descriptions were painted about someone. All were offered in constructive ways. Regardless of the intention or the relationship, human evaluations are limited. That’s not the case with God. Here are three reasons why:

Time known…God’s known you from conception…No one’s known you longer. Someone we knew in college may not recognize us today. It’s like that statement some middle-age adults make to a current friend: “If we’d known each other in college, we probably wouldn’t have been friends.” God’s been around for all the years. That history gives him the most information to back up what he says about you.

Depth known…God’s known you from formation…No one’s known you as deeply. The revelations we get from personality assessments make us say, “How did they know that? That’s so accurate.” It was no surprise to God. He wired you. He’s also been part of the ins and outs of life that have continued to form you, to mature you, to change you to the core. He knows you the most deeply, so his words about you carry the most weight.

Relationally known…God knows you by connection…No one’s more connected. Some people wear many hats in our relationship with them (family, boss, friend, neighbor, coworker, etc.). Naturally, we want to lean in to what they say. We long to be known by them. But there are many hats that only God can wear. When we are aware of them all, respect them, honor them, give thanks for them, the magnitude of what he says about us expands. Often, we forget just how much we most want to be known by him, but he cannot know us any more.

During this weekend, find some time to give him space to speak. Tune in to his voice. It matters most.

Photo by Megan Bucknall on Unsplash