I was introduced to the life of a faithful runner soon after I was married. My father-in-law, John, already had several marathons under his belt, and I was soon to witness the trials, triumphs, and tribulations he endured through many more races over the next several years. Week after week of endless training, soles of his shoes were often completely worn through, and Buca di Beppo’s pasta consumed for carb loading on the evenings before race day was the typical rhythm. John would run, and the rest of the family would watch, cheer, and pray that he would finish.
Several years later, his marathon DNA had matured into Ironman DNA. This was a whole new level of determination for him. 26.2 miles of painstaking exertion was now just a small slice of the Ironman Triathlon. For those of you that might not know the details of an Ironman, the race starts with a 2.4-mile swim, usually in the darkness, with hundreds of other swimmers kicking and clawing at one another, and each swimmer hoping that their next breath won’t be their last. Upon the successful completion of the swim, triathletes would then jump on their bikes for a short 112-mile jaunt. If they survive the first two legs in the allotted timeframe, they are allowed to finish up with a full, 26.2-mile marathon. As previously noted, the training that took place to be ready for a marathon was grueling, but training for the Ironman made that look like a proverbial walk in the park. John would spend hour after hour in the pool and on the bike, while still squeezing out the time and energy to train for a marathon. The intensity of the training, though punishing and severe, was exactly the discipline needed to reach the finish line and receive the prize.
My mind often prayerfully escapes to Psalm 121, especially when I’m pondering what my father-in-law was looking at knowing he would be running and biking in the Sierra Nevada’s with over 9,000 feet of elevation through which to traverse:
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.He will not let your foot be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
This is the life of a faithful Christian. God gives us a calling, a vocation if you will. He equips us with everything we need to start the first leg of our race. Faithful spectators join from a distance, praying us through. All the preparation and time invested at the expense of a multitude of other opportunities begins bearing fruit. Inexpressible joy in our accomplishment and in God’s faithfulness to bring us through. Trials and tribulations come again in the next season. Joys and sorrows ebb and flow as the Lord trains us for our next chapter, all the while He’s preparing for us something greater. Some of those praying spectators that were once watching from a distance become participants alongside us. The Lord, who never sleeps nor slumbers, ordained all our previous experiences to build our endurance and prepare us for the next mountain to climb. He keeps our going out and our coming in from this time forth and forevermore. At the end of our race, at the time of our departure, we can proclaim 2 Timothy 4:7-8 along with Paul, “7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
John finished the Ironman that evening long after dark. My family was famished from following him around all day from the wee hours of the morning and late into the evening and continuing in prayer that the Lord would uphold him until he crossed the finish line. John had been swimming, biking, and running the entire time. The prayers of new spectators must continue on though, as some of his previous spectators have now joined the race. My oldest daughter and son-in-law just ran a marathon with Grandpa John last fall and I’m guessing that many more praying spectators will be following suit over the next years and decades. So, keep praying and trust in the Keeper, who will be our help as we look up at the seemingly insurmountable hills, and who is waiting with the crown of righteousness.
Nate Thorne
Vice President of Admissions