Your own pace

Personal Photo: I love this photo, and I always have. This was my favorite course, and I set a personal record almost every time I ran here. The woods were cool, the course was winding, and because I spent so much of the race away from those cheering me on, I learned quickly to set my own pace, rather than depend on those around me.

My thumb hovered over the 'start' button on my watch, my right foot just a hair behind the spray-painted white line on the field. Our team of blue jerseys was crammed into a too small painted box that shoved us elbow to elbow with not only each other but the neighboring teams. It was the moment just before the cross country race began, where the air froze before the official pointed the race gun in the air and fired the signal to start. All of a sudden, we could see the smoke and hear the blast and off we were, hundreds of high school girls taking off to compete for the next 3.1 miles.

I loved cross country, everything about the sport. I could be in nature, hear my heavy breathing, and the clock was my only real competitor. While the beginning of the race was my least favorite part, I grew to appreciate this moment in my running career, because it was one of the most important pieces of each race. The first one hundred meters burned nothing but adrenaline, making it critical to take advantage of this chance to get ahead. If you go out too fast and for too long, you burn more than adrenaline, and you have to slow down each mile significantly. If you go out too slow, you can't catch up to where you need to be and you end up slower than you could have been. After the beginning sprint was when you settled into your pace, which you are supposed to hold from mile to mile. This type of distance running was a race of patience, one of heavy strategy, which I appreciated.

Pace is one of the hardest things to master in running. It takes a lot of miles to be able to run them consecutively in the same amount of time. Because of this, I would find many runners trying to pace with those they were around in order to keep on time. This is dangerous because everyone needs to run at their own pace, and only a few seconds difference for each mile can throw off the overall time. I smile when I think about running cross country, and I find myself appreciating how each race was mine individually, a chance that I could be better than I was a week before, and I could make up ground at my own pace, strategically pushing myself to be faster and smarter while the clock ticked. Running a cross country race is not so different than navigating life, and we can find ourselves in seasons of sprinting, seasons of burnout, and miles and miles to go before the finish line. Just like in my high school sport, pacing ourselves in life is important to our happiness, to being able to find joy in every season we are in, and to make sure we don't find ourselves wishing we were at the end of the race before we are just getting started.

Comparing ourselves and our journeys of life to those of our peers does nothing but create a dissatisfaction with where we are. Our pace is supposed to be different than those around us, but it can be challenging to remember this when we have set goals and have dreams that we see others already accomplishing. 2 Corinthians 10:12 is a good reference when we find ourselves feeling behind the curve and wishing for the next mile to be here already; it states "Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding." This verse highlights how dangerous it can be to get swept up in the world's definition of progress and happiness. Our culture is always teaching us that we need to spend money, take medicine, and be just like everyone else in order to find peace and joy. As misleading as this is, it can be a slippery slope. God calls us to be exactly where we need to be when we need to be there. Trusting in this and focusing on living our life not at someone else's pace, but at the pace God has set for us can bring true peace in every season, during every mile.

God's will can be confusing to us, especially when we do not understand where He is taking us and why. In this way, we miss out on the chance to enjoy the moment we are in because we are anticipating the next one to come. So quickly can we find ourselves idle in our faith, moving the start line to happiness to be just beyond the next goal, over the next hurdle, after the next accomplishment. Psalm 16:11 teaches us to be joyful in every moment, reminding us "You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is a fullness of joy, at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." God is with us all the time, running every step with us, carrying us when we feel as though we cannot take another step. It can help us to know that He guides our journey, navigating us as though reading a map, and even though we may not understand our path, He makes it clear to us that it is His will. In this way, we can abandon the need to rush from where we are to where we want to end up. We will get there eventually, but each building block of our lives helps to build up a warrior for Christ, a faithful servant to His will, and a light to others that encourages them to seek God in their lives as well.

I mentioned that running is a sport of patience, and patience can be tiresome, especially when we have so many goals and so many hopes that we feel as though we may never reach. Days can be long, and we can find ourselves weary of waiting. Life might feel more like a hamster wheel, or a patch of quicksand, and it is frustrating when feel as though time is slipping through our fingertips. We all feel this way from time to time, and while it can be discouraging, I want to remind us of Isaiah 40:31, which reads "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount of with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." This verse abandons all fears of comparison. Waiting for God, living our life at the pace that He has set for us, not at the pace of those around us, gives us endurance and the strength to withstand whatever the world tries to throw our way. In the seasons where we feel as though we cannot get there, we can remember this verse and remain in the faith that God will provide for us what we need to get to where He is calling us to go.

I found myself looking through photos from a few years ago, and I can't believe how much life has changed, how grateful I am for each step of the journey. We can trust that God will continue to bless us, to take us where He wants us to go, and to guide us through every step of our race. We need to run at our own pace, and not try to compare our pace to those around us. By focusing on our faith in God, and searching for Him in every mile, we are able to enjoy the blessings he bestows upon on us daily, and not be anxious or impatient for what is to come. Joy is meant to have every single day, and appreciating the pace of our journey can help us focus on enjoying each and every mile!