Who gets the credit on this one?

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. 

(Harry S. Truman)

It was Truman who was first quoted as saying, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." There are times we feel the heat rising in our lives and we get doggone uncomfortable in the process. If we took Truman's suggestion, we'd bolt every time we felt a bit too uncomfortable for our liking. If we always bolted when things got a little too 'heated' in our lives, what do you think we'd accomplish? Not a whole heck of a lot, that's for sure! We'd spend more time running that we'd spending 'accomplishing'!

The fastest runner does not always win the race, the strongest soldier does not always win the battle, the wisest does not always have food, the smartest does not always become wealthy, and the talented one does not always receive praise. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

We ALL can start the race, but will we ALL finish it? Some will drop out along the way - not because they didn't want to 'win', but because they saw the race as too hard for them to finish. We may not finish 'first', but if we persevere until we cross the finish line, we have indeed won the race! Credit goes to the first to cross the line - in all the races on this earth that we can think of from the Kentucky Derby to the Boston Marathon. With a different perspective toward 'running the race', we can ALL be 'winners', even when we don't cross the line first.

To persevere means we persist in anything we have undertaken, while maintaining our purpose in spite of difficulties faced along the way. There will be obstacles, and it is certain that discouragement will enter into our thoughts along the way. The goal is to continue steadfastly in spite of all these things that seek to dissuade us from the original aim. I used to have a teacher who told me if we all started well, we'd end well. That isn't always the case in real life, is it? Sometimes we start pretty well but do a miserable job finishing what we started.

God isn't after the fastest or strongest runners in this race - he is looking for those who will persevere till the finish line. I am planning on being a finisher - how about you? Are you running to 'win', or to let the 'race' bring out whatever it takes to get yourself across the finish line? If you are like me, the 'whatever it takes' may be a little harder than you imagined when you first started 'running'. We aren't seeking fame or acclaim - we are just seeking to finish. We aren't always going to be the fastest, smartest, wisest, or most talented - but when we run with all we've got - we will cross the finish line well! Just sayin!