in the cloud

Today, I got to be in the cloud of witnesses as my youngest daughter ran her first organized running event, The Smile Mile.

What a treat.

She had a serious case of the jitters but by race time, she'd accepted the jitters as part of the whole deal.

We walked and jogged together in the minutes leading up to the race and she listened closely to what I said. She settled on a goal - to finish the mile. While she could have shut me out - "Dad, shut up - I'm too nervous to talk" - instead, she listened and asked questions and treated me like her forerunner. Treating me that way gave me a little window into how Jesus might feel when we realize we need Him and listen for His counsel.

When the race began, I got a second window into how He may feel when we listen and act on His word. Just as she and I had discussed, she started the race at her race pace - an easy lope (click 'play' button below).

The rest of the girls dashed out in front. Some of them would only be "heels and elbows" to my daughter's eyes. But others soon had to stop and catch their breath - she found herself passing a few of them.

In the end, she crossed the finish line at 12 minutes, 4 seconds. A respectable time, even for an adult. And she received the medal that awaited her in the chute.

I got to step from the cloud of witnesses that saw her finish, give her a hug and tell her how proud I was - that she'd "kept her eyes on the prize" (see below).

And perhaps one day, she will remember the Smile Mile as a window into how it may feel to finish the race of life and hear, "Well done, good and faithful one."

a pair of quotes

No matter how hard I try, I find my way into the same old jam.
Led Zepplin

Running with Christ, like running in life, is about overcoming.
Josh Christiansen

more on the forerunner

There was another interesting fact about Amundsen’s race to the South Pole and it has stayed with me for almost 25 years.

He and his men found their dog teams ran faster and further if they had a forerunner. One of Amundsen’s men would get out in front of the team on cross country skis. The skier set the pace and the dogs responded.

You can imagine why. Ahead of them was a vast plain of ice and snow – though great mountains rose from the horizon, the near-miles may have offered few landmarks or milestones. No doubt, the sled dogs would have pushed ahead despite the landscape. But having a forerunner ahead gave the dogs someone to focus on keeping them on pace and on course.

Hebrews 12 reminds us to do likewise – to run the race marked out for us keeping our eyes fix on Jesus. Sometimes our lives can seem like a trek through a vast, trackless plain with few landmarks. But Jesus has gone ahead to help us stay on course.

on dog sleds

In the early 20th Century, two teams of men raced to be first ever to the South Pole. The race was between a team of Norwegians led by Raold Amundsen and a team of Englishmen led by Robert Falcon Scott. Both teams took diferent paths to the pole. The wisdom under which they travelled was different too. A few differences made a big difference -- so big that Amundsen's team reached the pole first and returned safely while Scott and his team did not return alive.

In this blog, we talk often about the race of life and following Jesus and how we can't go it alone. I believe Amundsen and Scott proved that, too. Both teams brought dog sleds to Antarctica. But at a key point, Scott's team abandoned the dogs and pushed ahead without the dogs. It was a heroic effort -- they "man-hauled" their gear and reached the pole. But a combination of weather and exhaustion doomed them. They did not return.

Amundsen's team rode the sleds pretty much to the pole and back. It was considered at the time, somehow less heroic. But it was far more effective and realistic -- Amundsen knew they'd likely not make it on their own. Understanding that, they emerged with the prize and their lives.


The same principle that separated Amundsen and Scott holds true in the spiritual race we run in this life. In this life, it is tempting - even heroic - to go it alone. But I have heard it said that Satan wants us alone - separated - then he has us where he wants us. Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit as a helper inside of us to guide us and so we wouldn't be alone. And I believe he sends people to run alongside of us to help us in the race.