challenge

Making It Happen

| Marie Griffith

Next week I’ll fly to Tampa to run in my last race of the year. The longest and most challenging one yet.

IMG_5897A group of us started training in January and next week we’ll get to experience the joy of accomplishing what we set out to do……..the reward of almost 12 months of dedication and hard work.

Our goal: The Spartan Trifecta – to conquer a Sprint, Super, and Beast in one calendar year.

This race is the final piece of our Trifecta. The culmination of all our training and commitment. It will be grueling, but oh the joy will be sweet.

Because the longer and harder you work…….the more it means.

And this means a lot. Three years ago I couldn’t run a quarter mile without stopping. I’ve come a long way since the Couch to 5K app and running my first 5K in 2015.

I’m not sure what’s next in my journey but whatever it is I plan to work at it with as much courage and dedication and surround myself with those that will cheer me on, push me, and lift me up when needed.

I couldn’t do this alone. These women and my family have been a vital part of my conquering.

So here’s to setting goals and making them happen. Here’s to taking on new challenges and overcoming obstacles. And here’s to doing it with some of the most beautiful and strongest people I know.

No compromising here.

Done

| Marie Griffith

The past week was the most difficult one of my Lenten journey. Not just in the remembering of the events of Holy Week or from my devotionals in Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter, but personally challenging in ways I thought were behind me.

That is part of the reason for my delay in writing this post. The words wouldn’t come. I’m unsure they’re going to come the way I want them to now but I will try.

We all know what a hard week feels like. Or months or years. Some of you are in the middle of a hard season and it’s been so long you’ve stopped keeping track.

All I know is that it felt like I was fighting to be okay. Not working hard to be okay. Not fighting to be victorious. I had to fight to be okay.  That meant not giving in to certain thoughts. It meant doing the things I had to do…..and following through with plans I’d made. Fighting meant being honest with myself and focusing on Truth. It meant resting but not isolating. It meant me not asking someone else to do what only God can do and remembering what He’s already done.

“We begin our Christian life by depending not upon our own doing but upon what Christ has done.

When you cease doing, then God will begin.”    Watchman Nee, Day 44, Bread and Wine

And I’m learning I’m able to make it through the hard weeks. Because He is with me.

“We go through that valley of the shadow of death with him. But with him. With whom? Him – the Savior – the Agnus Dei – this figure on the Cross.”  Thomas Howard, Day 36, Bread and Wine.

 

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.     1 Peter 1:3-9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheer

| Marie Griffith

Have you ever been doing something difficult and almost quit but didn’t because someone was cheering you on? I have. A lot.

It could be anything…..your first 5K, a new way of eating, a college course, your marriage, a new business proposal, volunteer work, staying organized, learning how to play the piano.

When you start something new, you’re excited and motivated. You can easily envision the benefits of taking it on.  You see the dream job, the business flourishing, the smiling kids at the community center, and the audience enjoying your rendition of Beethoven’s Fur Elise.

go-team-clipart-go---
from clipartpanda.com

Then it gets hard. The college course requires more time than you thought. Your spouse isn’t living up to your expectations. The healthier way of eating means no more spontaneous Krispy Kreme runs. The bank wants more information about your new business idea. It takes a lot of practice to play the piano well.

The excitement has worn off. You’re tired and stressed. You forget the dream.

But then a friend reminds you of why you started it in the first place. She gives you the vision again. She says, “You’ve got this! Keep at it.”  She cheers you on.

You have the dream back. The tiredness isn’t that bad. You learn to manage your time to minimize stress. You keep practicing or you communicate better with your spouse or you find new healthier sweet treats to enjoy.

You think to yourself, “I CAN do this.”

Now you try it! Cheer someone on. Your frustrated co-worker could really use an encouraging word. Your teenager needs to hear you say you believe in him. Your friend needs to know she’s going to get through this tough season.

Look for opportunities to be a cheerleader.

Help someone see beyond today, beyond the frustrations and the pain.

You will be cheered on in the process.

 

 

I Did It

| Marie Griffith

I took Automattic’s Worldwide WordPress 5k Challenge and completed it this morning. This is a virtual event and can be completed anytime during Monday, October 26th through Sunday, November 1st.

I used the Runkeeper app recommended and liked it a lot. Every five minutes the app told me my distance and pace. image

I ran my first ever 5k in April and I’ve increaed my per mile pace by over a minute. Progress feels good.

Don’t mistake me for a runner. I didn’t start running until a little over a year ago and I liked it. That’s all. I’m just a middle aged wife and mother trying to stay fit and found out this is a pretty good way to do it.

I’m also starting a new Thanksgiving tradition and will run a 5k called the Turkey Trot that morning.

Who knows? A 10k might be in my future.