What do I fix my eyes on?

What a wonderful weekend.

Friday night was spent with my immediate family and the Koscieks (Jay and his clan), who may as well be blood relatives.  Jay is one of my "brothers from another mother".   :)  I love them all so much and am so glad to have Jay, Carolina, and their kids home.  What a sweet time.

This morning I got to watch my brother Jason finish a 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours.  He ran it to raise money for World Vision.  I am so proud of him!  I have watched him run before in full marathons, and each time I am amazed by him and his fortitude.  In fact, I am moved to tears watching all of the runners finish - whether they walk the 5K, or run any of the race lengths.  Last fall I walked my first 5K on Thanksgiving morning (it was below 0 degrees!) and I can't describe the feeling of satisfaction I got from finishing.

As an added bonus, I saw the breast cancer walk participants around town today, making their way through their course as well.  Having gone through that process with a friend this summer (lumpectomy), made seeing them today especially sweet.

This all has made me think and ask myself, "what do I fix my eyes on?"  When you walk or run in a race, you have to keep your eyes fixed on the prize or the finish line.  I remember the overwhelming rush of adrenaline that I got when I did the 5K last year.  You just keep going until you reach that line.....

As I stood by my niece this morning, waiting for her dad to cross that line, we talked briefly about how the apostle Paul uses running a race as an analogy for life and living for God.  After the race, Jason shared Hebrews 12:1-3 with me, about how we must run the race with endurance and that there are a "great cloud of witnesses" surrounding us.  I can't help but remember what I saw this morning - those running, but also those cheering them on.  Some even ran with each other, holding hands.

The truth is, I can't run the race of my life alone.  There are so many that run/walk with me, cheer me on, have gone before me, and will follow after me.  The ultimate prize is eternity with Jesus....when my physical life ends, my real life will just be getting started.  I really want to keep my eyes fixed on the right thing....Christ.  That will make the ups and downs of the race easier to manage, with His help.  He runs before me, behind me, above me, and alongside me.  Bless His name!

Something to think about:  If the apostle Paul were to write a letter to the American church, or your local church (like he did to the Ephesians, Colossians, etc.), what do you think he would say?