Get Out The Pom Poms!

When I was a teenager, I participated in the sports cross country and track. I still do some running events once or twice a year with the husband as he really enjoys the sport.

I get what I call the “back to the barn” syndrome.

That is what happens when you have taken your horse out for a trail ride and when you turn the animal around to go back home, they become alive with a bouncy, tap dancing foot work because they know, they are heading back to the barn! I have found myself doing this in my runs. I did as a teenager and I still do it now. When I know, we are a the half way point, I will automatically pick up the pace, because I want to go back home!

But knowing your going home, that isn’t the only thing that promotes more speed. Running a race is hard work. Its hard physically and if you can’t connect your emotional side to keep your physical side moving, you fall apart and quit. We all need what we call cheerleaders. No, they do not have to have pom pom’s and bells, (although, that is a nice perk)!

It’s those people that tell us, “you can do this!” or “keep it up, your almost there!” or “great job!” that speak to us emotionally. Many times we don’t even know the people, or maybe we do and it means even more to us.

It’s the final roar of the crowd and when it comes down to me or another contestant, I will fight with every piece of muscle I have and find more I didn’t know was there to propel me to the finish line. The finish line in sight, the cheer of the spectators and me knowing, I did my best. That is all, I can ask of myself. To do my best.

It’s been a hard run with our businesses. Much harder then any of us thought it would be and no one is sure where the finish line exactly is. The husband is tired and growing weary and he is grabbing for water and gasping for air with a side ache, muscle cramp in his calve and blurred vision. And I’m running to the next mile marker and waiting for him there with water and bells and pom pom’s and I’m screaming “you can do this!” “I think we are almost there!” And he looks at me and with exhaustion seeping form his pores, he says, “we got this baby!”

If we never make it to the end of this run. We will have put in all our effort and we will have trained for the next one and what matters most, isn’t the failure of an endeavor, It will have been the unity and faith we built together as a team. We become stronger training as a team. And who knows what the Lord is training us for?

The pom pom’s are out. And my cheering won’t stop until the final end. We will have done our best. That’s what the Lord wants. He knows we can’t do perfection. He just wants us to do our best.