run your own race

I ran my first race since September yesterday.  I've been running consistently with increasing distance this summer...I have some big goals ahead...and I was feeling good about the progress I have made.  I am a slow runner.  In fact, some might not even describe what I do as running!  I've been training on my own this summer, focusing on making each day better than the day before.  Focusing on enjoying the run.  Focusing on God and what He wants to say to me while I run.  Yesterday, was a different story.  We (Team Karr) started in the back of the pack, knowing that we would be slower than some.  I immediately lost the things that I'd been focusing on this summer, completely distracted by the runners around me.  I stepped right into the comparison trap...and I was stuck there for 3.1 miles!  Yikes!

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like I've spent the majority of my life comparing myself to people, especially to people whom I admire.  In every area of my life: wife, mom, Christian, teacher, friend, runner, woman, and on and on and on, I have compared myself to the people around me who seem to have it all together and know how to succeed.  Guess what?  I ALWAYS come up short!  It's true...comparison is the thief of joy!  Comparison leaves us feeling discouraged, hopeless, and downright lifeless!

I'm determined to get out of the comparison trap!  I went looking for truth in my Bible. 

Psalm 139:13-17
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.  How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God's masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

Romans 12:4-6
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body.  We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.  In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.

1 Corinthians 12:12-21
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body.  So it is with the body of Christ.  Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part.  If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body.  And if the ear says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body?  If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear?  Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?  But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where He wants it.  How strange a body would be if it had only one part!  Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.  They eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you."  The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."

Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.  And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

Good truth!  Here are the truths that we need to hold on to:

• God made each of us intentionally for a specific purpose...our own purpose, not the purpose of someone else.
• Each part of the body and its role is important!  Your part and purpose are important!
• We need each other!  And we need each other to fulfill our God-given purposes!
• Even though our gifts often happen behind the scenes, they are needed and important.  Our vital organs are the most hidden, but we cannot live without them!
• The way to avoid the comparison trap is to keep our eyes on Jesus!  

How ridiculous it would be for me to try to run someone else's race!  God gave me everything I need for my OWN race.  It would also be ridiculous for me to try to be like someone else and run my race.  I'm going to run my own race keeping my focus on Jesus, ignoring distractions, and avoiding the comparison trap!