"Our God Will Never Us Forsake"

One of the best days of my life was during my junior year of high school cross country. It was the final meet of the season. I'd struggled for a month to cut down my race time, and felt like I was getting nowhere. About two weeks before the last meet, I decided I would give everything I had in order to get my PR (personal record...aka the fastest time a runner has ever raced a certain distance). It became my goal not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. I knew that although Heavenly Father might not have cared too much about my time for the 2.5 mile race, He cared about me. I figured that if this goal--to run faster than my previous PR-- mattered to me, then the goal would matter to Him. I prayed for the mental and physical strength I would need to conquer the pain during upcoming daily practices and during the actual meet itself. After praying, I knew I had to follow through. If God was going to help me, I needed to do everything in my own power to meet that goal. 

I love running. Actually that's the understatement of the century. I LOOOOOOOOOOVE RUNNING. So much. One of the reasons I do is because it's such a mental sport. During a race or a difficult run, no one is there to make the decision for you to keep going. Everything inside you tells you to stop. Your body aches. You're sweaty. It hurts to breath. Your muscles are sore. So, what do you do? You have a choice. Right then and there, even and especially when conditions aren't ideal (and let's face it...98% of the time, they're not perfectly ideal). You can continue on through the pain and meet your goal. Or, you can stop. Not that stopping always means giving up. But I love that in that moment--in every moment running--it's your choice to meet your goal and be a little better or to slow down and give less than you're able to. I love that.  And plus, it's just fun. Besides all that, running is SO FUN. (Sorry, if there's anything I totally geek out over, it's running...)

Haruki Murakami said in What I Talk About When I Talk About Running,“For me, running is both exercise and a metaphor. Running day after day, piling up the races, bit by bit I raise the bar, and by clearing each level I elevate myself. At least that’s why I’ve put in the effort day after day: to raise my own level. I’m no great runner, by any means. I’m at an ordinary – or perhaps more like mediocre – level. But that’s not the point. The point is whether or not I improved over yesterday. In long-distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be.” That's really what it is. 

I'm not fast, but I am determined. 

So, during those practices leading up to my last meet, I gave even more than I otherwise would. During my runs, I prayed. I learned when I started cross country as a 12 year old, that running created optimum conditions for sorting my thoughts as well as thinking through them with Heavenly Father. The lyrics from one of my favorite hymns, "Come, Come, Ye Saints" became my mantra:

Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?

'Tis not so; all is right.

Why should we think to earn a great reward

If we now shun the fight?

Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.

Our God will never us forsake;

And soon we'll have this tale to tell--

All is well! All is well!

This probably all sounds cheesy. And it probably is. But, I love cheese. So, there you go. Long story short, Heavenly Father cares about us. He is aware of us. I don't comprehend how He can know every person so intimately, but He does. And this was my fight. I couldn't shun it. I took courage, remembering that my God would never forsake me--not even on my home cross country course.

During that final meet of the season, conditions weren't ideal. In fact, with the temperature in the low 30s, and snow flurries on and off during the meet, they were really not ideal. But I came prepared, and after huddling with teammates under our team tent prior to the race, I competed, finishing with a new PR time. I was elated! I was exhausted and freezing, but beyond happy. I had done it. With God's help, we had done it.

In every season of our lives, God is near. Sometimes our successes are tangible, like meeting our goals for a race. Other times, they're much less tangible or noticeable to those around us, and even ourselves. Sometimes prayers are answered quickly, and sometimes it takes months and years. But , no matter the condition, no matter the background, God is aware of each of us. Always. No matter what. No matter who we are, our God will never us forsake.

And sometimes we get a rockstar run out of the deal.

Right after my race, with one of my favorite running buddies. Obviously, I'm rocking the whole tank top/shorts/gloves look. 

After my race with one of my closest friends on the team. We both trained together during practice and got PRs during our races that day. 

~Kristilyn

"Your toughness is made up of equal parts: persistence and experience. You don’t so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." ~ Joe Henderson