One week, People! One week! (picture Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover Home edition and his mighty megaphone) The Disneyland Half marathon weekend is just around the corner, and many of us will be heading to Anaheim to see all our hard work pay off.

We’ve all done the training as best we could. Your training may not have been what you wanted it to be (injuries, kids, divorces, marriages, job changes, extreme heat and moving are just a few of the possible causes) but whatever mileage you got in (or didn’t get it) you have to trust it now. My friend, Jenny, posted this on FB and boy oh boy does it work for the week before a race:

Because even those of you that are feeling now like you’ve failed have to know that you did the best you could. Best laid plans and all that. I truly don’t believe anybody goes into a race intentionally under trained and I’m sure you had good reason.

And for those of us that for once gave it all we have there are different fears. Because times when I’ve walked in under-trained I’m just happy to finish – my bar is very low. And if I exceed my expectations and actually have a great time and feel strong, BONUS! But when you’ve put so much in, there’s this dark shadow in the corner of the room that whispers “what if you put all that work in, and it wasn’t worth it?”

Yup. What if I put all that work in and I’m not faster at all. Or I get hurt during the race. Or it’s unseasonably hot/humid/cold/windy/raining and the weather impacts my pace? Or my stomach decides to revolt and the unthinkable happens? (I’ve mentioned my only a little bit far fetched fear of soiling myself before so this should not be news to any of us . . .)

I started thinking about how this fear is true in life, for me, over and over again. In my marriage, in my parenting, in my ministry . . . when you don’t give it your all and it turns out lousy you can say “well, I got what I deserved!” But when I give it my all? When I pour my whole heart into it and the outcome isn’t what I wanted or what I hoped for? Ouch. That hurts.

But the truth is, giving something your all is never wasted. Even when a child makes poor choices. Even when a marriage fails. Even when a project bombs. Even when someone you love and have poured your life into turns away from you and from God.

If it were about outcome, we’d all be in trouble. Because then nobody would try anything – the risk of failure would just be too big a chance to take. We’d comfortably only do what we KNEW we could be good at. Because if you try your hardest and fail, what does that mean?

It means that you listened to God and to your heart and followed the path meant for you. I often think that when we get to heaven and find out what God really found amazing about us, it will not be the bright moments where we succeeded spectacularly and got our name in lights and everyone said “good job” but rather the moments when we were obedient, put in the hard work, gave it our all . . . .and fell flat on our face.

I think about when my boys were learning to ride their bikes. They fell. Over and over and over again. And when they fell we didn’t say “well, that was a good try but think about how much better it would have been if you hadn’t have fallen.” Nope. We said (every time!) “great job!! We’re so proud of you! Keep trying!!”

So that is the attitude I will have with myself in my running, in my life, in my parenting, in my marriage and in my ministry. Because giving it all I’ve got is always worth it. No matter the outcome.

Happy Running! See you in Cali.

Jen

Colossians 3:23 and 24: “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.…”