Running the race

In August I attended my first marathon. It was quite the sight! I'm sure if you've seen one in Chicago or Boston you'd be quite surprised to know how it happens here in good ol' Brazzaville. First of all, the idea of running for a couple of hours, sucking all the polluted air deep into your lungs is kind of a frightening thought. Second of all nothing starts remotely on time here and it wasn't even scheduled to start until 8am. So it ended up starting after 10am. Imagine running a marathon at high noon on the equator! Yes!

Thirdly, yes, if you can see the photo, those girls are running barefoot and in socks. I'd say at least half the runners did not have footwear. Some were wearing sandals and very precious few had good running shoes. In spite all of this, my cute friend Amelia had great spirit! You go girl!

I've taken a liking to short jogs in the morning, but not sure I'll ever be ready for the Brazzaville International Marathon! When I run I always think of Romans 5:3 "We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope." When you run it feels good to work hard and persevere even when it hurts. And then you start to see results: stronger muscles, going longer distances; this is character. And then the pain to get there doesn’t seem important because you know you’re going to reach your destination; this is hope.

I love how God gives us physical metaphors to help us understand spiritual realities. The barefooted runners in the marathon were certainly symbolic of the hard working spirit of the Congolese in spite of limited resources. May God bless and strengthen the people of this country!