Sometimes I feel like throwing in the towel and just saying ‘Who cares’ at the top of my lungs!! Especially on those days when the stress and pressure of just being alive mount on top of me like a bowling ball. You know those days where you need a financial miracle just to not file bankruptcy, or a absolute miracle with your health so you won’t have to be hospitalized. Do you ever have those days too?
But then I think about that time in High School that my coach made us run a mile in under like 9 minutes. Yes I know 9 minutes isn’t that fast, but to a girl with short legs and an awkward gait, it’s ridiculously fast.
My coach set a rule that in order to be on the volleyball team you had to be in shape. And by being in shape, she meant the ability to run a 9 minute mile. I actually scoffed and rolled my eyes behind her back when she announced it at practice. Internally I could already feel the panic attack starting to rise up. I knew I could’t run that stupid mile to save my life. I’m just not the running type, unless I’m running after an ice cream truck of course.
The awful day finally arrived and I did my best. I huffed and puffed and moved my short legs as fast as I could but I could see her disappointed scowl as I took that last turn around the track. Time was up and she was going to cut me from the team. I felt like a complete loser. What sixteen year old girl couldn’t run a 9 minute mile?? It’s not as if I was 45 and 100 pounds overweight or something.
My coach decided to be generous and give us another shot. After a couple of tortuous weeks of waiting for the next opportunity to fail, she finally announced the day of our 2nd attempt.
I started off at a quicker pace, but was attacked by those awful side stitches and the excruciating inability to breathe quickly suffocated me. At just about the moment I was about to throw in the towel, one of the girls from the team came to my aid. She grabbed me and said, “Come on Shana! You can do this! You are almost there! Don’t give up. I’m with you until the end!”
It was such a game changing moment for me. Because she stayed with me and cheered me on, I was able to finish within just a few seconds before 9 minutes flat!
I learned some valuable life lessons that day:
1). We can do way more than we think we can! It’s our mind that has to be challenged and changed. True, whatever we are facing may be hard, but we can get through it. We can endure it for a long time, if need be.
2). Never underestimate the power of someone cheering you on! When my friend started to cheer me on, I literally could feel the endorphins kick in and I was able to believe in myself and I could keep going. Against all odds and major discomfort to my flesh, I might add.
3). Things can get tough, but we are never really alone. Jesus never leaves or forsakes us! Even in those moments when we feel like we might cave, He is there and willing to take our hand and lead us on.
I want to encourage you today to embrace this reality of God’s nearness in your struggle. Can you hear Him encouraging you, taking your hand and drawing your forward. Yes it’s hard, I know. We get weary of the same struggles year after year. But is it really that hard if we lean into Him and trust Him for the strength we need?
I will leave you with this scripture that I dearly love found in Psalm 18:28-29:
For You, O LORD, light my lamp; my God enlightens my darkness. For in you I can charge an army, by you I can scale a wall.
