"If you don't know what you stand for, you'll fall for anything."

I have got issues. I've been falling a lot lately, and it's getting ridiculous. Maybe my shoes aren't that grippy. The fact that I can pass a sled down a hill with only my shoes on kind of leads me to that conclusion. But it's not just my shoes. Ryan thinks it's hilarious to scare me, mostly because I overreact. I tend to flip out, and then I land up on my back. Ya, I don't know- he gets a kick out of that. The worst case of falling I've had in a long time was just yesterday. I'm suprised my knees are still attached to my body, instead of locked into the ice on the Rideau Canal. Honestly-- who invented toe picks on women's skates!? I am cringing right now just thinking about that..

But let's get real. Clearly, whoever came up with the above quote did not have this in mind. I heard an excellent sermon today that made me think about this quote a little bit differently. The sermon dealt with how we are to run the race that has been set before us, and to throw off everything that ensares us on the way. The visual image was that of a man caught in a vice grip- which was slowly squeezing him to death. I've always thought of that vice grip as the things we are exposed to in this world- external things. Things we can just say NO to. But there is more to it than that. The pastor said, " If you let your life be run by your feelings, you will be slowly beaten to death by them." It's really hard to control your feelings, but God gave us a brain for a reason- thus we are able to KNOW what we stand for- rather than simply feel it.

So, once we are firmly grounded, standing strong, with little chance of falling- we are ready to start moving. Standing is great, but it indicates something that is static, immobile-- not the best strategy for completing a race. For the sake of my little analogy, I'll say the first thing i'm going to do is throw away my crappy brown shoes with no tread, because the last thing I want to do is wipe out before the finish line. Let the shoes be any type of sin you may struggle with. The bottom line is, they slow you down. Get rid of them. The next thing to do is focus. There will be times when the pressure comes from all sides, the vice grip tightens, and falling seems inevitable. Perseverance is key.

The minister told a short story ( a true story) about a man who took 4 1/2 days to complete a marathon. That is probobly THE slowest marathon run in the entire world. What makes it so remarkable is that the man had no legs. He chose to start a race that would take over 4 days to complete using his arms, while strapped to a saddle with wheels. Unreal. Why did he do it? Maybe what's worth asking is- how could he do it? One arm length at a time, he kept his mind focused on the end result, and he crossed the finish line- 3 days after every one else- but he did it. His success was largely due to his focus and perseverence.

We know what our focus is- and we refocus on it everytime we get together in church- bloody and terrible as it seems, the cross is where we find our hope. Because of Christ we can stand- and once know what we stand for, we can run. This run demands a lot. Casting aside the "weights" of the world, we run with the knowledge that if God is for us, who can stand against us? Some powerful stuff to think about- thank God we have that ability- the ability to KNOW what it is we stand for!