Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1 ESV
At the young age of 48, I took up a new hobby: running. It wasn’t by choice, but more something that I felt God leading me to do and I entered into this new adventure trepidatious and skeptical. It was most definitely an experience of stepping out onto waves, knowing that if God didn’t help me do it, I would most certainly fail. I’ve come to realize that one of the greatest reasons He sent me out on the road was to teach me lessons through running that apply to the journey of being a special needs parent. Over and over I encounter similarities between the two.
Most recently I discovered something that I truly was not expecting. I believe the Lord showed me this about running so that I would apply it to the rest of my life. I had been training towards a distance goal of 10k, and had gotten to the half-way point where the required run for the week was 5k. I completed the run with no stops and was really proud of myself. I made sure to screen-shot my “splits” (the time it took me to complete each mile) and sent them to a friend who is training with me. The following week the prescribed training run changed its rhythm a bit, and it seemed to take a step back. Rather than running straight for three miles plus, I went back to walking for one minute every mile for a slightly longer duration of time. I don’t mean to bore you with the training details but this is where the really cool part comes in. I expected that my “splits” when I walk for a minute each mile would be much slower than when I run for the whole mile. That was not the case!
Source: Special Needs Parenting- Key Ministry
