Running the Race

I could see her rounding the corner in a group of other fifth grade girls; her steps were flagging as she ran slower and slower, and she was about to start walking. “C’mon, Lily!” I yelled. “Keep it up!” She looked up and saw me, and started running until she reached the finish line. Lily had just finished her first Cross Country race!

A couple of days ago on Facebook, a friend wrote that she was just so tired, felt so old, and had been through chemo. She just wanted a good night’s sleep! I could relate to her so well. I remember lying awake at night after chemo was over, not able to sleep, struggling with insomnia and getting up in the morning to go to work exhausted. I’m sure you’ve felt the same way at times. Exhausted, overwhelmed, and just plain tired.

A couple of weeks ago, Ed was feeling that way, too. He had so much on his plate. His aging father has been in and out of the hospital recently. He is the elected president of our church, which as always has financial problems. It seems like he’s never home which is frustrating to both of us. We talked about it, and a little while later, I asked him how he was. “I feel much better!” he said. “Why?” I asked, because just a little while before he seemed so stressed out. “Because I talked to you,” he said. Letting it all out somehow made the situation seem better, even though nothing could be solved at the time.

Sometimes all we need is an encouraging word; a safe place to vent; someone to listen. That’s all we need to put one foot in front of the other. To just keep on swimming!

What keeps you going? Be sure to read all our bloggers who linked up, and give them some encouraging comments! When you read their posts, I’m positive you’ll feel encouraged, too! Do you have a blog post about encouragement? Be sure to link it up here!

NEXT WEEK: Stay tuned for a special month of the Spin Cycle! We’ll be writing about being grateful and Thanksgiving. Are you on Pinterest and Instagram? You’re not going to want to miss November on The Spin Cycle!