A Runner's Mentality

Hey guys,
So I was running the other day and just had this crazy cool time with Jesus.
Thought I would share with you.
I don't know about any of you guys but I hate running. I mean I love it, but really I hate it. I did cross country and track in high school and haven't done very much until recently. But as I was running the other day I was just thinking about life. There are so many times when I feel like quitting, there are so many times when I actually have quit. When things get too difficult, when I reach the half way point and think that its good enough. But really, what good is that? Why quit?
God has called us to run a race, not just run a race but give it our all. We should persevere through the difficult times cause the reward is worth it. Every time I run in the mornings, I'm so tempted to stop halfway, to just be content with the amount of running I have already done. I mean its better than not running at all right? But really, where does that get us? What kind of growth would happen in our life if we always stopped halfway? Not very much.
Being a little past the half way point of the internship I started to feel that. I'm being completely honest. We have learned and done so much in the past 10 or so weeks its so tempting to just start to get lazy and start to give less than 100% here. NO! I won't let my body win, I can't give into that.
When I ran cross country, I can honestly say I was never the fastest. I don't think I ever won a single race. I can say that I never gave up. I would always push through and run the entire time. While others would begin to walk at certain points, or would start off really fast then barely have enough energy to finish, I would persevere through. That was my secret weapon. See, as that final 200 yards approached, thats when I would push through. I was already super tired, but I always pushed myself to the very edge. What was amazing was that even through I never won the race, there were always people I would pass in that final stretch because I had a goal. I didn't want to finish my race knowing that there was still energy I could have used. I would give it my all.
That's how we should live our life.
Thats what God was telling me to do.
We should live our lives in a way of that runner's mentality.
Instead of just walking through life afraid of going through challenges or quitting when life gets tough, run even harder. When you feel like you are about to fall over, push even further. Then you know what happens? You keep running, you don't die even when you feel like you are. God honors that hard work and gives you the energy and strength and pretty much everything to see it through.
Then, the next time you face something, it's easier.
So I just wanted to encourage you guys and share this. I know it really encouraged me the other day.
Have a great rest of your week.
P.S. Greg Tipton spoke yesterday about fasting, prayer, evangelism, and 10 Days mission. As one of my classmates said, my life is ruined now thanks to him (in a good way.) I think the whole class left feeling a greater compassion for people. I think GOd spoke to us all and gave us all some sort of vision for our life. Greg also prayed over us and prayed for power, and let me tell you, the power came! It was pretty crazy.