Finishing Strong

     
      Another running epiphany! As usual most of my posts are connected to some type of lesson I have learned recently and today's Flat Tire Ministries Thought is no different in its creation. I firmly believe God speaks to us frequently, we just have to be listening instead of letting all of the noise of the day disrupt our ability to receive the message. I guess that's why running provides such a good opportunity to hear the message He is wanting me to hear. I run early in the morning before the sun comes up and the day's schedule starts to take top priority. I encourage you to find an activity that allows you to have quiet time where you can meditate, reflect, and receive your "message". Hiking, running, walking, paddling, exercising, and just plain old sitting down and listening are all activities that I have found that allow me to "listen" more purposefully. If you don't have one I would surely encourage you to get one! Okay enough for the finding time to listen pitch, on with our thought for the week.
      As already mentioned, today's FTM is connected to my running routine. In running it's all about the finish. The start is ultimately critical because without it the finish would never occur, yet what I have noticed in my own personal style of running is that I tend to get stronger as the run progresses. Kind of like a "catching my second wind" type thing where as my run takes me past my first mile or so I start feeling a new source of energy and strength. I know back several years ago, I mean several, when I wrestled in high school, the third period or even overtime was when I normally hit a new gear and won the majority of my matches. What I found is that although getting started is critical in any endeavor, the strength, energy, and endurance needed to finish the competition is ultimately what we all should strive for and desire to improve.
     The question then is what is it that allows us to increase our endurance and to firm up the momentum necessary to finish stronger than we started? What keeps us from quitting when the "going gets tough" or the odds seem to be stacked up against us? In running the starter's gun tells us to start running in a race, but along the way there isn't normally anything that tells us to keep running and to not quit. More than that, when I'm up early in the morning running by myself there isn't even one person out there that would even see me if I did stop running, and there isn't really any incentive to keep me running when I start feeling the twinges of exhaustion. So why do we keep going? If there isn't someone shouting at us to keep going and to finish strong why do we keep going and actually dig in harder and finish stronger than we started?
     For me it's all about making a commitment to do something and then taking that commitment and turning it into energy and endurance to see it through to the end goal. The more you commit to anything the more likely the chances for success are increased. What defines commitment you may ask? For me it is dedicating oneself to practice and time. That's why I run early in the morning. As the day progresses it ain't going to happen! I want to commit my day to my job 100%, and after work I want to commit my time to family, friends, or other activities that I am involved in so for me a commitment to working out or practicing has to happen early in the morning, 4:30 Carter style! Would it be easy to stay in bed after a busy evening or a hard week? Absolutely! Would it be easy to say "Well I'll just do it tomorrow" when I don't exactly feel like running or doing any of my other exercise routines? Most certainly. Do any of those excuses equal the definition of commitment? In no way form or fashion. To commit is to have that postal carrier attitude of, "Rain, snow sleet, or hail, nothing will keep me from my appointed rounds!" In today's world, just being someone that will commit gives you a huge head start to being successful in life over most of our population. By committing to see things through to the end you are definitely going to be in the minority instead of the majority, but that isn't such a bad place for you to be, it's just a bad place for our society to be.
      After you have committed then the hard work begins, practice and building endurance are the two tools that runners and athletes in general use to increase their ability to go further, go harder, and to ultimately finish stronger. Those same principles transfer to your life and whatever it is that you want to be better at than others in the same situation as you. In our marriages, it takes practice and building endurance to overcome conflict, adversity, and challenges. We all made a commitment when we got married and said our vows, but there isn't anyone standing there cheering you on and telling you not to quit. That comes from taking that commitment and working on it constantly, "practicing" each day and building stamina along the way by problem solving and persevering through life's challenges. For the person facing challenges in their job, sometimes it may seem easier to just say I quit, but in reality, that only reinforces a quitter's mentality and "practices" making quitting easier in life. If you don't like your job or you don't feel fulfilled in your current position, by all means find something more rewarding, but if the reason you are wanting to quit is because it is tough, or you think it is too hard and you can't do it, then that is when it is time to keep pushing and fight through with continuous practice and commitment to persevere! Whatever it is that you want to be better at in life, whether it is your health, a financial situation, relationships, work, or family it has to be a priority to you and when it becomes a priority it has to become a commitment and that is when you must be willing to see it through and overcome the appeal of quitting.
      Remember, quitting is easy, if finishing was easy then everyone would be doing it more often and more successfully. Finishing is tough because it requires you to "have some skin in the game" as my dear friend and colleague KC Alvarado often says. The more you commit to something through hard work, dedication, and sweat the harder it is to give up and quit.
      This same kind of commitment is critical in my walk of faith. To believe is one thing, to be committed to believing and serving God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength takes the type of commitment I am talking about in today's message. Paul, one of the major triathletes of the Bible puts it this way in Philippians 3:14-16 "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Paul is saying that although he hasn't made it to where his ultimate goal is, he is going to keep on practicing, building his endurance, and persevering through until he ultimately does receive his reward. Are you committing to the things in your life that are worthy of your commitment? Are you willing to endure the urge to quit when it hurts a little or hurts a great deal for that matter, and see it through to the end? My faith and the commitment I have made to trust, believe, and serve are my driving force in life. Those are my "practice" tools and they have not failed me yet. If you have a faith then great, you realize the difference that makes in your life when you are faced with the challenge to stick it out when things get tough. If you don't have a personal faith then I will be praying for you. The single decision to trust and believe that I have made has contributed more than anything else in my life to building my endurance and allowing me to never quit and never give up! Finish STRONG! Someone is counting on you! 
Coach Carter