Crossing the finish line of my first Triathlon, was a starting line for a Break-through Summer. Kari Rosen was the master-mind behind the beginning of our training. She and Gwen Elliott trained six days straight each week together, getting up in the dark and leaving before their kids woke up. We had agreed together at our Word group that we were going to take this adventure together.Six miles into the eleven mile bike ride as I am climbing a steady hill during the race, I start thinking about how much fun I am having and how much I would enjoy doing another triathlon with my husband. Crazy, I know... I should be thinking that I couldn't wait for the swimming, the biking and the running to be over so that I could take a shower...Yet just getting to the starting line of the race was a victory for me. Fighting through knee issues, digestive issues, and an infection, I was at the race believing that God would give me the grace I needed to finish.
Running the final mile towards the finish line, I got into a conversation with a man beside me. He was a believer in Jesus, so we began to encourage each other with all the places that the Bible speaks about racing. I commented that Jesus was the author and the finisher of our faith, that racing required looking away from everything else and to focus on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2). At that point we approached the finish line and the Christian brother sprinted ahead of me, I probably won't see him again until we both receive crowns at the final finish line and all of us together cast them down at Jesus' feet...
Crossing the finish line marked a new beginning for me. Yes, my husband Wayne and I have begun training for a triathlon that takes place at the end of summer. We are laying aside every weight, and those things that ensnare us and pressing into God for endurance to finish the race that God has set before us. So our bikes and helmets are still in the van from the 13.5 mile bike ride that we took together this morning, and we have our running shoes set out for tomorrow. Who knows we may even meet someone like Otto Price in the gym ready to take his place running beside us to the finish.
