Today, I ran a triathlon. It didn't actually kill me as much as I thought it would, but I might limp for a while yet. I rocked the swimming part, then threw on clothes and hopped on my borrowed mountain bike to hit the road. Oops. Everyone else had nice road bikes, and most passed me pretty easily. My thighs burned and I got fairly discouraged. Even though I knew I was doing this for myself and not for anyone else, it wasn't the best feeling to be passed repeatedly by others faster than me.
But while I was being passed, a few people took time to encourage me, to tell me I was doing well and cheer me on. Although I'm not sure if I believed it, it helped some. Plus, if you remember last year on the 4th of July I wrote about Pain, you'll remember that I had just run a 5k and reflecting back on hurt; physical and spiritual. Today, while I did feel pain, I also felt something else. Endurance. Support. The ability to push through.
How did I get from extreme pain and slight hopelessness after a 5k to the ability to do a sprint triathlon? I trained. I intentionally disciplined myself in preparation for the pain I knew was on the way. I trained myself for the hardships I knew I was going to face. I made myself ready.
So why don't I do that for my faith?
I could go from limping around in my faith, having it shaken by a slight breeze, to being able to endure, persevere and push through the hardships God is putting me through... if I trained. Reading my Bible, going to church, having small group... they're all well and good, and completely necessary, but so is walking to class. I need to walk to class to get there, and it burns calories too, but I can't train for a triathlon that way. Nor can I build my spiritual being up, make it stronger, unless I'm willing to experience some discomfort in my daily schedule. Reading my Bible for 5 minutes every day doesn't really cut it.
It isn't easy. But I know what to do.
So why am I not training harder for the race that really matters?
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