Whose race are you running?

God has this way of speaking and teaching lessons that simply amazes me.

A few weeks ago I had an encounter and got a lesson that left me really speechless and contemplative.
It started quite simply. I was in the middle of my 15-20 minutes walk to work after I got off my taxi. As I walked, I noticed a young man about a minute ahead of me. Immediately I increased my pace and determined that I would beat him to the stoplight about 4 minutes away. I changed my mind, nope, I would beat him and then “donkey-lengths” him to another point.

Having set my targets, I started. I passed the young man a minute before we reached the stoplight. I was overjoyed. By the time I reached the stoplight, it had changed to green and much to my consternation, he caught up with me. This God turned into my first lesson, “the things you try to outrun will catch up with you.”

I was amazed when the thought hit me but I was determined that I would win the self-imposed challenge that the young man had no idea I had issued. The light changed to green. I shot across the road and headed down the road. A voice instructed me to look back. I obeyed in time to see that the young man had not continued straight ahead. He had gone another direction! My second lesson for the morning came: “How can you win a race that you are the only one running?”

I was speechless! I had started a race and just assumed he was going my direction. Many of us tend to do that. We assume that everyone is heading the same way or doing the same thing we are and forget that like the members of the body, we were all created for specific purposes. Therefore, we don’t need to compete. Obviously, the eyes cannot walk for the feet but together they are able to get you where you are going.

We must also remember that whilst we have to do different things to get where we are going, we are all going to end up at the same place eventually. Whether you are a king or a garbageman or an office clerk, one thing is sure. Death that you are trying to outrun will catch up with you.

From this, it is vital that we live well. That we love hard. That we laugh long.

Live. Love. Laugh. But most importantly, stay your path.