Track & Field Day

When i was 8 years old we had a track & field day at school! I was a really fast kid at that age. I also gave credit to the special new shoes my mom bought me for the event. With those shoes on i was bound to win ! ! ! I got my hair cut so i would be more aerodynamic and wore the typical 1970 something style shorts (it was okay back in the 1970’s my advice now is, please burn them!)

One thing my dad knew more than i did at the time was that i was great at the 50 yard dash, but not so much at longer distances, let alone a marathon.  I stretched and got ready for about 15 seconds, hey i was 8, my attention span was pretty short. I walked around smiling at friends who also ran fast and i smirking at those who couldn’t. I got into the starting position and BANG the starter pistol rang out!

Never having really run in an event, the gun sound startled me right from the start.  I lost my footing and did a face plant into to track pavement. I was able to jump up and press on but felt my face turning several shades of red and could hear the crowd yelling and some laughing. Already behind a little, for the first few minutes of the race my mind could think of nothing else but of how i fell and of how  i could ever to catch up. I wasn’t focusing on finishing i was battling with myself and that just slowed me down more.

Because this was elementary school  the distance we were running was shorter than that of middle school or high school  but for me it seemed like we were running for hours and no matter how much i tried to catch up i seemed to fall farther and farther behind. I knew i was in real trouble when some one passed me on the track and i was already in last place to begin with! My elementary school mind thought, does this mean i’m in second place now?  The reality that i was not going to win almost overwhelmed me until i heard my dad yelling from the crowd, “KEEP RUNNING BEETLE!” That put a pep in my step. I ran until my side started to hurt and then i heard the coach yell, “walk for a little bit, you can still finish!” I did just that.

Being in the back of the pack i was able to notice some kids looking up into the stands as they ran; looking for their parents, grandma or girlfriend. Later a friend of mine said he saw his family dog up in the stands and ended up running into the lane next to his. I finished the race and now know it didn’t really matter what place i was in i still finished.

As i grew up i learned how to pace myself a little better. In middle school we would train with weights on our ankles so that we would build up leg muscles and when we took them off we would run even faster. When we laid aside those weights our legs felt as lite as a feathers!

In high school we would run up and down the bleachers and train in order to build up our cardio and be able to endure running further and longer distances.

This brings me to the point of this post:

Philippians 3:13-14 MSG

13 Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward – to Jesus.

14 I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

Philippians 3:13-14 NIV

13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 12:1 NIV

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Hebrews 12:12-13 NIV

12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

The Message Translation puts it this way;

Hebrews 12:1

1 Do you see what this means – all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running – and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. 

Hebrews 12:12-13

12 So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! 13Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!

So just keep running my friend, no not just run, but run for the right reason and purpose and with perseverance. Finish the race knowing that Christ has already won for you, we just need to run (be a participant in Christ like faith) and finish the race.

Pressing on,

Tom Beetle Bailey

I work at The Salvation Army of Saint Augustine, Florida

That is also my church. Visit our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/The-Salvation-Army-of-Saint-Augustine-204243596357064/timeline/

And if you’re ever in beautiful Saint Augustine, Florida visit us

at 1425 Old Dixie Highway Saint Augustine, FL 32084

M-F 8am-4:30pm

Wednesday Nights 6:30pm Men & Women’s Ministry

Thursday Nights 6:30pm Bible Study

Sundays

10am Bible Study Sunday School

11am Worship/holiness Service

6pm Salvation Service

We also offer opportunities for “Community Care” visits, projects and more

call me at 904-824-6956 Ext. 4407