Training to win the prize

Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life! It started at 7:00 a.m. and ended at midnight. 1,700 people entered and 1,500 finished including a few people in their 70's. The water current coming back in was strong, the humidity was awful and there was a heavy downpour of rain in the evening. They are amazing people. I was huffing and puffing walking up the hill, that they were running up and my goal was only to sit down and eat ice-cream! They train up to six hours a day for one year before coming here. They finish because they discipline themselves. The apostle Paul wrote something very important to the church in Corinth. He knew they would relate because the Greeks had invented the olympic games. He wrote "Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All atheletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athelete, training it to do what it should." Paul is talking to the believer here. Don't be content to just be an observer. Each one of us has been given a destiny to live, a purpose to fulfill. Don't slack off. Discipline your soul. Pursue that destiny now so that when you cross the finish line you can say with to God "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful". A very wise man once said "Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator". A life without God can produce bitterness, loneliness, and hopelessness in old age. A life centered around God is fulfilling and can be richer and more bearable when we are faced with disabilities, sickness, or handicaps. Being young is exciting. But the excitement of youth can become a barrier to closeness with God if it makes young people focus on passing pleasures instead of eternal values. Make your strength available to God when it is still yours- during your youthful years. Don't waste it on evil or meaningless activities that become bad habits and make you callous. Seek God now.

Something that impressed me the most about watching the Ironman, were the people on the sidelines cheering the atheletes on. They brought tears to my eyes the way they would encourage each racer that went by. Comments like "I'm so proud of you number whatever", "you can do it", "you're almost there". Last night at the thank you party for the volunteers, an athelete said he didn't know the volunteers from Adam, but they gave him a piece of themselves, that enabled him to finish the race. Do you have someone on the sidelines cheering you on? Believing in you, that you have what it takes. It doesn't take much to brighten someone's day...a smile, a kind word. In Hawaii they call it the aloha spirit. Words spoken at the right moment could be life or death to a hurting person. Maybe you grew up listening to hurtful remarks like.." you will never amount to anything" or "you were a mistake". I once heard it takes hearing positive comments over and over to displace the few negative ones we've heard. I love the proverb that reads "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Be an encourager! Aloha!