The Rabbit

In my neighborhood, I usually see a family of wild rabbits with bushy white tails. They're harmless and pretty, but they hop quickly. As I studied the pace of their movements, I remembered that in the sport of Track and Field, if you want the field to go faster than intended, there's usually a rabbit in the race. The rabbit's role is to set the pace for the field, but the rabbit does not complete the race. He merely ensures that the others running are doing what they're supposed to do so that when he drops out, the remaining runners have the momentum to keep going.


According to Runners World, in distances as short as the 800 meters and as long as the marathon, the

Falling

The other day while running, I fell.

As I was falling, my brain was saying "I can't believe I'm falling," and then I hit the pavement. It was very early in the morning, so not one solitary soul heard me scream as I fell, and moaned as I made my way back up.

Once I got back up, I had a tough decision to make - do I quit or keep going?
I gingerly walked to my mile marker while being very audible in my discomfort, drank some water and decided to keep going. Once I started to run again, the pain from the fall didn't bother me as much as I had received surface cuts and scratches on my elbows and my right knee. Also, running distracted me from the pain.

A couple of things made me want to continue:

• A friend's mother who is in her late 70s is training for a half marathon. She recently told me how she fell while running, but she just got back up and kept going.  I thought, "If this 70+ year old can do it, why can't I?"

• She also said that running at her age is hard, so she always repeats Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me....as she runs.

• After recovering and thinking about falling Proverbs 24:16 comes to mind - The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked. This fall was an analogy for life. I've run this path many times and yet I have no idea what tripped me up. I was a tad distracted not really looking at where I was placing my feet. After the initial shock and pain, I took my time, steadied myself and continued. When I was finished this particular run, I felt accomplished; I felt stronger; I almost felt invincible.  Getting up and fighting makes you feel that way and encourages you.

Falling hurts; getting back up hurts a bit; staying the course - hurts initially and then it doesn't hurt anymore. Until you fall again.

Have you fallen recently? How hard is it for you to get back up?