I am not a runner. It probably doesn't count if I just "know somebody" who runs. Truth is I know a lot about running if hearing my friends talk about their passion counts for something. What I hear sounds like a lot of hard work and perseverance. Discipline. And what I hear stirs in me a respect for their hard work, their commitment to keep pursuing bigger and harder goals, to keep training for a little longer run, a little bigger race, and a little more stamina.
Do you know why I respect those who run? Because deep down, I know they have what it takes to accomplish an arduous task. I know they set goals and persevere until they achieve them. I know they endure the pain because the end of the race, knowing they reached their goal and did not give up, is worth all the pain of the journey. Sounds like God's plan for life to me. Hebrew 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." NIV
My running friends have taught me the value of training. You don't get up one day and decide to run a 5K; you get up and decide to train for a 5K. You don't complete a marathon when your running experience amounts to an occasional 5K; you train for a half marathon and then for a marathon. AND you don't run in high altitude unless you've trained to run in high altitude.
I appreciate my running friends because they provide a picture of how to develop discipline and build muscle. I may not have the muscles that allow me to run a marathon or even a couple of miles. But I could...
I may not have the muscles that allow me to walk in integrity and be a faithful wife, friend, mother, sister, and daughter but I could... How do I build discipline into other areas of my life?
The idea of developing a disciplined life is not new to me but I am looking at the importance of discipline through new eyes as I watch my children grow and develop. I feel an incredible need to teach them the practice of developing discipline. I teach them to discipline themselves in every area of life: how to get enough sleep, how to brush their teeth regularly for two minutes, how to wash their hands when they blow their nose! Am I teaching them only these skills? Or will I teaching them about discipline so they can apply this practice to every area of their life?
When I graduated college, I was blessed to begin working for a small business owner. Over the six years I learned business practice from this employer, I watched the struggle in hiring and managing a small staff of around twenty employees. One of my employers' greatest challenges was the commitment or lack of commitment to quality service that an employee like myself might have. I remember a conversation with my employer where he struggled to determine what made the difference between a person with a work ethic that benefitted the clients and the business and a person who had little commitment to work hard and provide good services. I think one of the factors is discipline. Were the individuals taught to value hard work, keeping promises, using your time well, and other areas of commitment to be disciplined?
There are a lot of areas of life that can benefit from discipline. How your employer views your contribution at work is one small piece of the puzzle. Discipline affects my relationships with friends. Am I keeping my commitment to be at someone's house on time? Am I available to help watch their kids or bring them a meal on short notice? My discipline in my daily tasks provides opportunities for developing relationships after "my chores are done". Am I modeling this for my kids?
One of the areas I think makes the biggest impact on my life is discipline in my relationship with God. How do you develop a relationship with God? How do you develop a relationship with your best friend, your mom, your spouse or significant other? Time and being a good listener are some of the key pieces to my closest relationships. I rarely get to know someone well if I have no time for them or I do all the talking. My life is busy and full of commitments. I'm sure your life is equally full. Have I scheduled time to listen to God and just be with Him? I learn more about God from reading the Bible because the words of the Bible are God's words, written to humanity to tell us who He is. God is saying "Hello, do you want to get to know me? Let me tell you about myself. Would you like to listen?"
A part of how I get to know God more intimately is when I do more than just read the words He wrote to me. I read and think and write about what I learned from God's letters. I keep a journal of what God says about Himself, or about me and how He relates to me. These journal entries are very personal but only beneficial as a way to deepen my level of understanding about what I read in the Bible. I hope that my kids will see this and begin their own habit of sitting and reading the Bible and thinking about what they read. My daughter already loves getting up in the morning to sit on the couch with me while I read to her from the Bible. She also notices every time I let something else push my time with God aside. Which pattern do I want my children to imitate? What do my actions show is my highest priority?
Memorizing God's word is another area that I have seen God bless when I practice discipline. My four year old is learning to memorize Bible verses through song and also just repetition. We practice the phrases one small piece at a time until we build the psalm or other Bible passage into a complete section. We memorized Psalm 23 in a couple of months. We just started memorizing the first verse of Psalm 1, "Oh the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or stand around with sinners..." Sometimes we laugh at how funny it sounds to keep repeating the same small phrase over and over. "Oh the joys" (echo from 4yr old), etc. In two days, we built the memory pattern for 17 words! Our favorite part of Psalm 23 has been verse 4, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for YOU are with me. Your rod and your staff comfort and protect me." The reward for our discipline of practicing these words before bed is knowing my daughter can turn to this truth in the middle of the night when she has a bad dream or when she is playing with friends and has to decide whether to be kind or to join in the bullying of another kid. Truth be told, I have nights when fear keeps me awake or I can't stop thinking about choices I have to make to do what is right instead of follow the crowd.
So what does this have to do with running again? What I want to communicate most is that I've learned how hard it is to attack a big goal from the starting line. You can't do it. You can't sign up for the race and assume you have the muscles to finish. You will fall down. Discipline is what I need to keep going until the race is over. Training for the big race is what I need to be able to run well from start to finish. I will still fall down, be exhausted, sweat like crazy, and experience all the highs and lows of completing such an intense race. But I will finish... because I prepared with discipline. This is my ultimate goal. This is how I take small steps to pursue a big goal, one training step at a time. This is what I want to model for my children and teach them: how to build discipline.
