Why Enduring Matters

ENDURE: "To undergo a hardship, especially without giving in...."

I'm mentally preparing for another Boston Marathon, all of the physical work is behind me and despite the fact that this is the 13th time I will toe the line in Hopkinton, there are still doubts in my mind and fears about things which may never happen. It was Alberto Salazaar who once said, "We are ALL cowards on the marathon's starting line". It's such a long race that just about anything can happen along the way. All the preparation in the world may not prevent an injury, cramping, stomach distress, or dehydration. But that's the beauty of the marathon. Most people can get to mile 20, but the last 6.2 miles is where the race REALLY starts. You start to feel every ache and pain, and if you've not fueled properly it's where the bonk typically crashes your party (it's called hitting the wall). It's not pretty, it's not fun, and it's often where most people who don't finish the marathon give up. You see, if you can get through miles 20-25, you're golden. Nobody gives up willingly when the finish line is within sight. If you can weather that five mile stretch of nastiness, you will endure. Life's hardships often feel like that stretch of a race, when five miles seems like fifty-five. You can't see the finish line, you feel like giving up, packing it in. But during those times, we must remind ourselves that God is in control Sometimes simply KNOWING that God is in control and that He has His perfect plan is our only comfort. While we tend to think that nobody knows our pain, we forget that He is using that pain to mold us and shape us into His image through our tribulations. He's in the business of using temporary (a key word!) troubles to produce eternal glory. The 20-25 mile marker stretch of a marathon does not last forever, despite how you may feel when you're searching for that next mile marker and it feels as if someone keeps moving them further apart. Step by step, provided you keep moving forward, you get through the rough parts and into that last mile. In Boston, it's the left turn off Hereford onto Boylston - as you round the corner, you can see the finish chute and banner some 400 yards away and the crowds carry you through to the finish. Even folks who were walking to that point start running again. For those who don't give up or give in to the course, there is a sense of pride and glory that nobody can take away. Enduring matters because of the example it provides to others - that with God, ANYTHING is possible. BELIEVE!

"Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory"

- William Barclay