Random thoughts from a Warrior Dash!

Yesterday I ran in a Warrior Dash. This is my first race of this kind and I came away with a few Random Thoughts, so of course I'm going to share them with you!


To begin with, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. When we arrived and I watched literally hundreds of people finishing up, covered in mud, I began to question if I had lost my sanity! Fear started creeping in and it was only by looking at the smiles on those who were finishing that I found the courage to get in line for my start. Thankfully I was running with two good friends and we had promised each other we would stick together....we weren't in this for an "impressive" time, we were in it for a FUN time!


Almost immediately we started running into the "mud" - actually, I'm pretty sure it was gray glue spread out to capture unsuspecting runners. I know this because I saw quite a few shoes on the trail where the mud had sucked the shoe right off of runners' feet! The good news was I knew we could make it through because although we did see quite a few single shoes, there were no broken bodies to go with them.


The obstacles weren't one right after another - there was some space between them...sort of like the way it happens in life. That is, until we got to the very end. Then the obstacles came fast and furious - but we knew the end was just ahead and that enabled us to push on through! I have to wonder how often in life we fail to realize that the faster the obstacles come, the closer the finish actually is. It would probably make a difference in how we ran through what tries to stand in our way.


But back to our run. The first major obstacle, I have to admit, beat me. It was a wall climb where you had to use a rope and boards on the wall to make it to the top. That wall looked HUGE! My fear of heights really kicked in, but I grabbed the nearest rope and started to pull myself up. The rope was covered with mud and slicker than snot on a doorknob! I watched my friend make it to the top, but I just couldn't get a grip. I gave up and slid back down, went around the obstacle and moved on down the course. Looking back, I wish I had given it another try, but my failure didn't stop me from moving forward. It was an obstacle I just wasn't ready for - but it didn't mean I was done! More obstacles waited ahead.


Not too far ahead came the obstacle I had dreaded since I signed up for the run...the rock wall climb. I'd already failed at an obstacle I thought I was ready for so I wondered what would happen now! I was being given a second chance to face my fear. First try - failure. Second try - failed again. I just couldn't reach those hand-holds! I just had to give it at least one more try in a different spot. I didn't want to walk around another wall - I wanted to scale it! This time I made it to the top. The top! Did I mention I have a fear of heights???? Now what was I going to do!!! After much encouragement, I reached out and grabbed the fireman's pole and slid to the safety of the ground. This time, fear didn't win!


Now we were back to the course. There were climbs and crawls and jumps and mud....lots and lots of mud. You'd make your way through the mud and think you were "clear" only to hit another spot that threatened to send you into a major slide! The mud would then CLING to your shoes, weighing you down and slowing your progress. Trust me, it made running tough! It made the obstacles even tougher!  Walking on a balance beam 6 feet off the ground with mud caked shoes is NOT for the faint of heart!
Most of the obstacles weren't nearly as difficult as I had thought they would be. It just required stepping into them and continuing to move forward!


Before I knew it, we were on the final stretch. It required getting dirty - really dirty (as evidenced by my photo!) There were encouraging cheers on both sides and  we ran across the finish line as winners! As I stood there with my muddy grin with my muddy friends, all that we had gone through seemed like a distant memory; and I had to think how much like life this was. 


As we run this "race", we often can be filled with fear - not knowing what will lie ahead...but if we'll just take one step at a time and keep on moving, before we know it we will be running into the gates of glory, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who have gone before. There will be times we encounter obstacles we just don't know how to overcome - but we move on! We will feel like the world is clinging to our shoes and making it hard to walk, much less run. We will feel in danger of slipping, but if we do...it's just mud! Get up and move on...and when the water "hazards" appear - just use them as a chance to wash away the mud that has held on for so long.


Will I run this race again - most definitely! Next time I'll do a little better....and I'll take a few more with me, and with every step we grow stronger!

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

 ¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
   where does my help come from? ² My help comes from the LORD,
   the Maker of heaven and earth.

 ³ He will not let your foot slip—
   he who watches over you will not slumber; ⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
   will neither slumber nor sleep.

This race was just for fun....but we are in a far greater race every day!

Hebrews 12

Discipline in a Long-Distance Race

 ^1-3Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

Mirey clay and Mississippi mud

As I was taking a run this morning, a song started running through my head. It's one you're probably familiar with cause it's used in many churches as a worship chorus..."Jesus, lover of my soul, Jesus, I will never let you go...." It was when I got to the third line that my mind took a detour...one of the advantages of being a little ADD I guess. It is the line, "You rescued me, from the miry clay" that got me thinking. Maybe it was the fact that my feet already felt like lead and I couldn't imagine having to pull them out of clay that got the wheels rolling, who knows. Anyway, remembered something that happened recently to a friend. I told him if he didn't tell this story, I would....cause there's a lesson to be learned.

It happened during a recent women's retreat my church sponsored. As timing would have it, it was the weekend we had a lot of terrible storms passing through the area. Lightning was popping everywhere, the night was filled with howling winds, and the next morning, the lake was so high that the picnic tables had floated away. Yep, it was one eventful weekend, but the excitement wasn't over yet.

You may have noticed I mentioned that this happened to a "he" and I said it was a women's retreat. One brave soul came with his wife to act as our sound man, heavy lift-it guy, etc. We were very thankful for him being there. However, as they say in the south..."you ain't from around here are ya." This young man was from an area of the country where mud isn't quite as prevalent as it is here in the deep south. We have mud that isn't just mud...it's more like glue. Given the chance, Mississippi mud will suck you in so fast you won't know what happened.

You've probably figured out where this story is going. The morning after the storm, this young man and his wife were going to drive their car from their cabin to the main meeting area. No problem, he'd driven in and out from there a couple of times already. Only this time, he got stuck. Not just a little stuck. I've never seen a car that buried in the mud. His car was resting on its axle! He was STUCK!!!

I think if he had realized how bad things could get, he'd have stopped and gotten help right away, but like most people he thought he'd just keep trying and eventually he'd drive out of that mud...but Mississippi mud is a little like sin....it doesn't want to let go. He just dug himself in deeper.

To his credit, he kept such a great attitude in all of this. Never once did I see him beat himself up, blow up, lose his cool....nothing. Perhaps he did it in private, but none of us saw it. He just took it in stride, finished out the retreat, and then went back to trying to get his car unstuck.

Eventually the camp owners came to help. They had a big pickup truck and tried to pull him out. No luck. They tried to dig him out....talk about a mess. I think they even broke a shovel in the process. Still stuck. It was time for some expert help, so a tow truck was called.

You're not going to believe this...the tow truck got stuck. Yep, plus the cable broke when the driver tried to get himself unstuck. This guy's reaction was MUCH different than my friends had been. He somewhat held his temper, but you could tell he was fuming with himself and the situation. So now the first tow truck had to call in his boss who brought a second tow truck. This one was massive and could have pulled out an eighteen wheeler...all for my friends little compact car...and the other tow truck.

Eventually they all got unstuck and drove merrily on their way....complete with a tree limb they pulled out from under the car and the mud that stayed on there for a week. This was definitely an adventure that got me to thinking. How many times do we find ourselves "stuck" in something we thought we could handle? Maybe it's sin; maybe it's venturing into an area we aren't yet equipped to handle. Whatever it is, the scenario is much the same. At first we try to get ourselves out....that's fine, but at some point we have to realize we are stuck. We need to call for help. If we call soon enough, perhaps all it will take is a friend to help pull us out. Don't let pride keep you from asking, because if you wait too long, it may take more to pull you out. Then, the one who tries to help can actually get stuck with you if they aren't prepared. You get the picture.

There's an even greater lesson that I saw and it was in this young man's face. At no point did he seem alarmed or dismayed. He knew he'd be okay....I think that's the countenance that comes from someone who knows that no matter what life throws at them, God is in control. He will rescue from the miry clay and set your feet upon a rock....even if you're stuck in the clay because of a wrong decision you made. God loves you too much to ever let go. I guess God is the really big tow truck...the one that can really rescue you from what is trying to suck you under.

So with apologies to Hillsong for slightly changing the words, because I trust God's grip far more than I trust my own....."Jesus, lover of my soul....Jesus, You will never let me go. You rescued me, from the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock and now I know. I love you, I need you. Though my world may fall You'll never let me go....." Now that's good news.