The room was spinning when I woke up the morning of the first Candle Wishes 5K walk/run last month. Although I’ve had occasional trouble with dizziness and nausea for some time now, the doctor still isn’t sure what’s causing it, perhaps migraines without the headache.

I just take the meds he prescribed, and it usually clears up quickly. So I took my meds that morning and, even though I wasn’t exactly steady on my feet, with the encouragement of my son, James, and a dear friend who walked with us I did manage to finish the course.

Last year I had told James that I was planning to walk the four-mile course of Borodash on Thanksgiving Day, and I asked him to join me to help keep me motivated. He, unfortunately, thought I understood the need to train in order to be able to do that! Duhhhh—you’d think I could foresee that need. Okay, sure, I’ll try to do a little walking to prepare for it—I promise!

Well, I did do some walking. I even went to the gym two or three times a week with a friend in an attempt to lose some weight, too. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really very serious about training. Oh, I managed to lose a little weight and on Thanksgiving morning I walked the entire four miles of Borodash with James’ encouragement. I thought that was quite an accomplishment! But, lo and behold, he then proclaims I have to do at least two 5K walks/runs this year in order to prepare for this year’s Borodash. Okay, but this is getting to be quite an ordeal. I guess I can do it, but I don’t have to like it!

My first practice walk, the Candle Wishes 5K, is now complete. Did I train for it? No, I walked not even a single kilometer in preparation. Will I find and enter another 5K before Borodash? Yes, but only because I promised my son I would. Will I train for it? That remains to be seen.

I certainly know the need for training. Had I trained for the first 5K, I’m sure I would have done better than finishing ahead of only one person—a lady who had recently had knee surgery and whose husband had told her she wasn’t ready! (Happily, she kept trudging along and did finish!)

Why am I not preparing properly for the races? Probably for the same reasons I’m not into exercise and a healthier diet right now. I easily find excuses for not doing what I know I need to do: I have too much to do; I’m too tired so I need to rest a while; let me check my email first—oh, and my Facebook account; I just can’t think about that right now—I’ll think about it tomorrow (the Scarlett O’Hara syndrome); this is hopeless, I may as well give up!

Motivation is the key in any race. Maybe reaching my goal weight or increasing my stamina just isn’t enough motivation for me. I may even decide to drop out of the next 5K.

There is one race I have no intention of quitting…the one Christ has promised to run with me. Paul tells us in Acts 20:24 that we can persevere if we have the right motivation: However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Testifying to the good news of God’s grace, the anticipation of bringing another person to Christ—now that’s motivation! With that motive we can without a doubt complete the race.

Does that mean we won’t stumble or fall? No. Does it mean we’ll never want to quit? No.

But just as James kept telling me I could finish the four miles of Borodash, we have plenty of encouragement to keep us going: Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! (Hebrews 12:1-3, The Message)