THE RACE I'M IN
How could someone accidentally run a marathon? That’s sort of like accidentally going to work. Just ask Georgene Johnson. She signed up to run a 10K race in Cleveland, but unintentionally lined up for the marathon. At the four-mile mark she realized her mistake, and considered quitting, but she pressed on, and finished.
Georgene later shared an intriguing comment: “This isn’t the race I trained for. This isn’t the race I entered. But, for better or worse, this is the race I’m in.” (Adapted from DayBreaks, Galen Dalrymple, October 20, 2025)
Ever feel like you’re in the wrong race? Around the four-mile marker we realize something’s wrong. We cry, “I’m in the wrong race!” We all experience it. “I wasn’t supposed to get divorced … or have a crippling accident … or have a child hooked on drugs … or lose my spouse.” There’s no escaping the misfortunes of our race, but we don’t get to choose them. To quote Ms. Johnson, “For better or worse, this is the race I’m in.”
Like it or not, we accept the trials of “the race we’re in.” Page 417 of the AA Big Book states, “Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation—some fact of my life—unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake.”
The apostle Paul faced hardships in his race every single day. But at the end of his days he wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7). Never give up. Keep running. For better or worse, this is “the race we’re in.”
Ponder:
What difficulties have you recently or currently experienced in your race?
How can you find strength from the Lord to help you continue?
Pursue: For a deeper dive, read Hebrews 10:19-39.
Lord Jesus, I desperately need your strength to persevere in the challenges of my race through life. Help me keep my eyes on you.
(Photo courtesy of Chandler R)