This week I had the opportunity to do one of my favorite things – talk to kids about Jesus and running! Our elementary school Run Club is highlighting one Olympic athlete of faith each month as we approach the 2016 Summer Olympics. For the next few months, I get to research and present the testimonies of how these Olympians “run God’s race” on and off the course. But the real challenge is how to make it relevant to four to eleven year olds.
My running heroes are Ryan Hall and Meb (no last name needed when you’re that awesome). I’ve read both their books Running With Joy: My Daily Journey to the Marathon and Run to Overcome. I decided to talk about Ryan Hall this week having just heard about his announcement to retire at the ripe old age of 33.
Following his announcement, Ryan posted a video interview in which his wife Sara talks about one of his most memorable events and certainly one of his BEST DAYS EVER: The 2007 Houston Half Marathon in which he obliterated the American record with a time of 59.43. I still can’t wrap my brain around that time as my own half marathon PR is 1:52. Here’s the video clip (copy and paste) that I showed to Run Club this week:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10153921505339445&id=40233564444&refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2FFloTrack%2Fvideos%2F10153921505339445%2F&_rdr
I love how Sara (2016 Olympic Marathon contender) shares why they both run: TO GLORIFY GOD. She also wove Colossians 3:23 into the interview naturally and matter-of-factly.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as for the Lord, not for men.”
I wore my autographed race shirt to Run Club this week.
Ryan always autographs with John 10:10.
Little did I know at the time how much that verse would speak to me years later. Intellectually I “got” that Jesus came that I may have an abundant, FULL life. Guess what? It’s easy to testify of this verse when you are always winning. When you’re in the spotlight – for good reasons. When things are going your way. When you’re healthy. When you’re not being criticized or judged. When you make decisions that others agree with.
But if a full life is only about winning and everything going your way and people liking all that you do, NO ONE would ever get to experience this idea of a full life. If full life is the goal, what is the prize?
The prize HAS to be one that everyone can attain regardless of circumstances. It HAS to be one that can withstand the test of time, trends, and trials. The prize HAS to be worthy of the race that was run.
That prize is joy.
And the name of the race is contentment.
My mind was kind of blown this week as I was preparing to talk to Run Club. I was all set to tell the kids about how John 10:10 is like when you go to McDonald’s and you get the happy meal that comes with EVERYTHING: the burger, fries, drink, and a toy. THAT is life to the FULL for a four year old, right? How else do you translate “contentment” and “joy” to elementary school kids?
Run Club just ran its first official race of the season last weekend. El Nino was threatening to dampen our efforts that Saturday morning as we lined up in the starting corral. It did pour down rain right before the starting horn went off but was completely dry for the duration of the race. In fact, the sun peeked out and yielded some beautiful rainbows against the backdrop of this scenic bayside course.
I paced a fifth grader in the 10K race. He ran a strong, consistent pace until about mile five and a couple of muddy hills. At that point he said his legs were tired. I told him that whenever I feel tired and like I can’t go another step, I remember how tired and in pain Jesus was going to the Cross. He endured all the way to the end for us. He never gave up. He finished strong. He was focused on the FULL JOY that would be His forever.
I’m so proud of Daniel’s perseverance in that 10K race. He did finish strong. And he placed second in his age group! He also knocked a good 17 minutes off his last year’s 10K time with a 1:01:53. After the race, he even said to me “My legs feel like they could run more!” I have a feeling that years from now, he may not remember his exact finish time; but he will remember how it felt to push through pain and the joy of knowing he didn’t give up.
As Run Club gathered for post-race ice cream (that’s really why they ran, right?), one of our first grade girls said to me,
“This is the BEST day ever!”
As a 49 year old, I’m fairly certain this six year old will have many more “best days ever.” But it made me think about how much God must delight in that statement. When was the last time I said “This is the BEST day ever!”? And what does it take for me to declare that anything was the BEST ever? Or maybe the question should be “What is preventing me from saying it was the BEST day ever?” Each and every day.
I think some days I wake up setting myself up for a non-best day. If I don’t have a purposeful, hearty to-do list with a training run built in to the day, my outlook is already cloudy. If I can’t systematically check off things from my list, the day will not come close to “best” status. If I have a bad run, if I have an argument with Dave, if the car repair costs more than estimated, if I ate junk food, if I read negative emails… And let’s not ignore those “times of the month” when emotions are out of control, important decisions should NOT be made on those days, and it would be safer for everyone if I just stayed in bed all day.
I said earlier my mind was blown this week. It happened during an ordinary run Tuesday morning on my regular seven mile route. I was thinking about how to experience more joy in my life. Okay, nevermind life…how about just on this little run? I thought about John 10:10. I also thought about how Paul spoke of all things being possible in Christ – namely being CONTENT in all circumstances (Philippians 4:13).
Content. I’ve never really liked that word. For some reason, I associated it with “compromise.” Like somehow being content means I settled for less. Or that I’m just supposed to be happy with whatever happens. Or when I don’t hit a race PR or goal, I’m supposed to be content as long as I tried my best, right?
The mind blowing part was that I realized I had it backwards. When I reversed the question of joy, I nearly stopped in my tracks. Instead of looking for how I can find joy for myself in all circumstances, I suddenly saw it as “How can I bring joy to my God in all circumstances?”
What do my actions, thoughts, and heart need to reflect for God to say “Irene, this was the BEST day ever!”
The dictionary defines the word content as “not wanting more or anything else.” This does not mean I can’t set higher goals. It doesn’t mean I shouldn’t set high expectations and standards. It doesn’t mean compromise or settling for less than best effort. It simply means making Jesus the focus and recipient of joy.
Contentment and joy have one key similarity: great satisfaction. That sounds a whole lot like LIFE TO THE FULL to me!
Oh, and my bib number last Saturday just “happened” to be #1010. Commemorating the best day ever. Until the next one…