Faith through the Fog

I've been racing for 25 years.....and I have NEVER messed up a pre-race like I did today. Before I go on you should know that I take full responsibility for what happened. No excuses. I just didn't prepare like I normally do, didn't read the race instructions indicating that I was to have picked up my number at the DoubleTree either yesterday or this AM by 6:15. I drove right onto the Biltmore Estate for the 15K, 7:20 AM start, arriving at 6:20 with time to grab my number.....and then panic set in. Number pick-up was over. I looked at my watch. 6:50, 30 minutes to race start. No number. I somehow found the race director (Bunny was her name, no joke), explained my plight, and after laying into me for a few seconds for being such a LOSER she decided to show mercy and called the hotel to get my number driven to the start line. I remained calm. Somehow I knew it would show, and I knew that my anxiety wouldn't serve to get it there any faster. In Bunny I trust. The number and my chip show up at 7:07, with 13 minutes to spare. I gave Bunny a great big Easter hug. Faith restored. Lesson learned. The good news, I would race (officially), the bad news....my pre-race routine was severely compromised. But I felt blessed to toe the line....the gun goes off and we've got 9.3 miles of rolling hills in dense humidity around the beautiful Biltmore Estate. The event draws 1000 runners....and the highlight is about 2/3 of the way through when you enter the gates and catch your first glimpse of the largest private residence in the United States. Having never run any of the previous 13 years of this event, I looked forward to experience. But as I rounded the corner and entered the grounds, a funny thing happened. No house! The fog was so dense and thick, the house couldn't been seen! But even though I couldn't see it through the fog, I knew it was there. I was certain it was at the end of the long driveway....and sure enough, as we got closer (right in front of it actually), it came into view. And as I'm running by it, I thought of Hebrews 11:1.... "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." At that point, I was HOPING for a downhill finish (!) but focused on what God was trying to tell me about my faith. How CERTAIN had I been lately in trusting His plan for my life? How CERTAIN had I been in my faith, knowing that He was in control - way out ahead of me, right behind me, and right along side me? How SURE had I been through the darkness.....and the fog, that He was there with me even though I could not see Him? If I could only carry the same kind of faith that I had today in knowing that the Biltmore Estate was there - despite not being able to see it. Easier said than done, I know, but when we learn to trust in Him and cast all of our worries and burdens on Him, things get a little bit easier.....it's called Keeping the Faith! BELIEVE.

"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!"

- Psalm 27 13-14