Let Us Run the Race

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1

February has always been the black and red month for me. I always looked forward to this month when I was in elementary school in the 1940s. Of course, there was the large box that had a mail slot cut into its top and was covered with red or pink paper. It was big enough for many small valentines; this was no more enjoyable for me, though, than making black silhouettes of Presidents Lincoln and Washington for the walls of the classroom. You were proud that these men had been such magnificent leaders of your country. They ran their races and endured. February is Black History Month now and we can add Martin Luther King to the list of runners.

Our lives are races of a sort. Christ has given us goals, sometimes difficult ones to achieve. Some days we race toward what we consider the end like rabbits, other times we look around as we travel and make slow or irregular steady progress like the tortoise. God wants us to keep on loving and trusting him all during the race to love and assist our neighbors as we slow down, to endure for him.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us endure and run the race for your glory. We pray for your continuing help and love each day of our lives.

Carol Budka (reprinted from the 2008 Eastridge Devotional book)