Fearfully & Wonderfully Made
When I was growing up, I ran track. My race was the 220 meter which is a race between two more popular sprints - longer than the 100m and less than the 400m. While I’m only 5’3 (with a slight rounding error), I am fast or was back then! Kids watching the race would later ask me, “How do you run that fast when you’re so little?” They would look at me and not think I could be fast since my legs are short and therefore, my stride is shorter than the average runner. Coach never told me I was “little,” so not knowing any better I ran with gusto. It was me and the wind like the song goes. While I say that, I also admit that I am competitive meaning in actuality it was me and the girls in the lanes around me!
Our coach called me by my last name, Sheley, and frequently reminded me to be keenly aware of several things.
· Don’t jump the gun or have a false start as they call it
· Stay in my own lane and don’t stray over the line
· Don’t trip or fall because I would lose too much time
· And of course – make sure to win the race (there was no fun, fair positive play notion back then)
Coach would constantly warn against spending too time looking at the runners in other lanes because the chance of tripping or straying outside of our lane greatly increased. The coach knew that and used to tell me, “Stay focused on your own lane Sheley!”
Runners all begin from different positions on the track and the lanes appear like they are different lengths, so it seems unfair. However, the starting point is also different to make the lane length all the same, so the race is equal. Someone who has never seen a race might say the track doesn’t look fair since some runners start so far ahead of the others. If given the choice, they might choose another lane because it appears closer to the finish line. Just before every race began, the coach used to also remind me not to focus on the other runners and would call out, “Run your own race Sheley!”
God gives all of us talents and strengths, and each of us wonderfully made by Him. Psalm 139:13-14 says, “For you created me in my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. God is our maker and our coach because He designed the playbook (His Biblical Word). God created us perfectly in His image and wants us to run our own race and focus on Him and the lane He gave us to run. The person to my left or right might appear like they have an advantage, and they are ahead of me, but in reality, I am exactly where I am supposed to be. They may have used a better Instagram filter, so their story appears different, but in reality, they have their own race to run too.
God wants us to run the race He designed for us and He made each of us unique with distinctive gifts and talents. One of mine was short distance sprinting. I wasn’t designed for a marathon or an 800m. My ADD would have kicked-in and I would have wandered off somewhere much to Coach’s dismay. I wasn’t built or equipped for long distance endurance, but for speed. Other runners can run for miles and miles and that motivates them – they are created that way. Run the race you are made to run by God. Don’t miss the plan God has for you. I can hear Christ calling out to each of us just like coach, “Run your own race (insert your last name)!”
As we wrap up a tumultuous 2020, another gift God gave us besides our uniqueness and one that so many of us long for is found in John 14:27 which says, “I am leaving with you a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give so don’t be troubled or afraid.” As we near towards Christmas, God not only gave us our uniqueness and the gift of peace of mind, but He gave us the ultimate gift – the option to spend all of eternity in Heaven with Him one day. All we have to do is open the gift and receive him as our savior.