{this race called life. :: #firstfridayfinds}

{post originally written 4.4.14}

last night my sweet friend and fellow blogger, elizabeth maxon over at {words} and ::wonder:: sent me a little nudge on facebook to jump in on her #firstfridayfinds blogging.  what's that you ask?  ... just take a look at her post here

what elizabeth didn't know when she posted her gentle nudge on facebook was that i was sitting at home on my couch having a less than fabulous mental evening on my couch.  those nights come a little too frequently for me being single, living alone, and forcing my schedule to be relaxed for this season… too much silence and my mind starts to reel and go in directions that are just plain false.  instead of choosing to combat with truth where I know true rest and peace lie, most times i unfortunately choose to distract.  i choose a mcdonald's happy meal instead of the fine feast that awaits me with the lover of my soul and i have no doubt that the author of lies loves when i choose that happy meal over the bread of life.

when i read elizabeth's #firstfridayfinds that she posted on my wall, she had posted on the following verse, "I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” {Jesus}

…and elizabeth wrote one thing that grabbed my attention and my heart strings with full force ...

"...give Him an inch...just crack that door...and He enters in...

“what if I just crack the door? … I wonder if He’ll truly show up.”  i knew my soul wanted to let Him in, but oh how my flesh is so weak and how my doubts can be so many.  I opened the bible app on my phone out of sheer laziness, but curiosity too.  I chose to read the full chapter surrounding the verse of the day and after reading it a few times, there it was…

“"may the God of endurance and encouragement  

grant you to live in such harmony with one another, 

in accord with Christ Jesus" {romans 15:5}

I’ve struggled the last few weeks with hard things…  hard obstacles in my fitness journey, hard eating habits yet to be broken, hard feelings of loneliness and dreams yet to be met, hard feelings of unworthiness, hard life choices ahead, and yet this verse reminded me I believe in a God of endurance and encouragement.  The same endurance and encouragement I need when running just seems too hard to keep going.  The same endurance I need to love people well even when I don’t feel like it.  The same encouragement I need that I CAN do hard things and things that I don’t think I’m capable of.

ENDURANCE is the opposite of apathy, incompetence, weakness, indifference, and laziness.

ENCOURAGED is the opposite of weakening, disheartened, hurt, agitated, and confused.

The lies I’ve been hearing that I can’t do x, y, or z are just that… lies.  The author and perfector of my faith is about endurance and encouragement.  This life is a long race my friends.  It can be hard, it can be arduous, and it can be painful, but we are called to endure, to persevere with Jesus by our side, for His glory.  He is steady, He is constant, and He is our encourager.  

…. and that my friend is what makes this race called life so beautiful.