“Whatever
you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for God." ~ Colossians 3:23
Asthma and athletics are an odd
mix; most sports require fitness and stamina.
Asthma - a respiratory condition that causes wheezing and coughing –
makes working out tricky. Jenna wanted
to join the school’s cross country team anyway.
She hated running but joined because friends persuaded her. Waking every morning before sunrise, Jenna slipped
into spandex shorts, and oversized hooded sweatshirt, and running shoes. Though the ground was blanketed in dew and
fog covered the earth, they found this the perfect time to practice.
She worked harder than most, but no matter how hard she trained,
she always finished dead last. When she offered
to quit citing her shame in ‘pulling the team down’ – Coach did the sensible
thing. She promptly refused to let her give
up. She kept encouraging everyone to push
themselves. And she never gave up on Jenna.
Jenna quickly fell behind, but she kept running. Determined!
Only God knew how hard she tried!
Friends passed her and cheered her on. She was so tired – she needed to rest.
“Only 500m to go - finish strong!” shouted a voice from the
crowd. Jenna blinked hard, was she
dreaming? She had no idea how many
runners had passed her already. Could
she possibly be “in the money?”
Picking up her weary legs and pumping her arms harder, she
saw the finish line 300m now before her.
Two other girls matched her pace stride for stride. “Keep it up girl, you can do it,” came the
now familiar Coach’s voice.
She made one final push leaving the other two in the
dust . . . her dust. It felt great for once to pass someone. She
crossed the finish line checking her time – a new personal record. Well, that’s something! A track official greeted her with a beautiful
key chain – she had finished 99th.
For the first time ever, she wasn’t the race’s derrière!
At the school assembly the following week, Coach shared their
results – top honors, trophies and ribbons.
He told of how proud he was of all their hard work. Jenna felt herself slinking down; 99th
place clearly didn’t deserve his praise.
When Coach mentioned her name specifically, terror gripped
her like a vise. She told the audience that
she was especially proud of Jenna. “She
never let roadblocks change her goals – but achieving them changed her own
life! You see,” she continued, “winning
is about heart, not just legs. It’s not
always who wins the race. What’s more
important is encouraging each other and doing your best.”
Kids, I’m always with you, not just when things are going well, but
especially when they’re not. When in
doubt, just close your eyes and talk to Me.
I parted the Red Sea, I can handle your worries. ~ Your Father
