What's the Hardest Thing You've Ever Done?
What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?
I’m not asking what the hardest thing you’ve ever gone through, but what’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done.
Emotionally, the hardest thing I’ve done has been to let a staff person go. I spent quiet time alone in tears, both before and after those dreaded meetings.
Spiritually, the hardest thing I’ve done took place a year and a half ago when I committed to pray for a hundred hours in a month for people’s souls. That was nearly three and a half hours of praying every day. It became a wonderfully valuable month for me, but the hardest thing I’ve ever done, spiritually.
Physically, dozens in our church are in the middle of doing the hardest thing that they have ever done, culminating next weekend. Most of our Bridge Team marathon runners have never been runners before this year, and now they are running a marathon. Think of that!
Some of the stories are downright amazing. If you spend some time praying for each of the runners, you’ll quickly realize the huge sacrifice they have made to develop the mental and physical stamina to just get to the place where they are today, ready to run.
The story I’m most familiar with is that of my wife. Most of you do not know that Linda was diagnosed with Acute Rheumatoid Arthritis three years ago. There were days she could not get out of bed without my help. I used to have to turn on and turn off the shower for her. Few knew about it, because she’d always show up for church, smiling, working with the kids, and doing her best to not let on the pain she was living with.
Early next Saturday morning, she will line up to run 26.2 miles,
probably without walking. It’s hard for me to believe. Linda didn’t play sports in high school, never ran in her 20s, 30s, or 40s, until this past year. Linda, with debilitating arthritis, asked God to give her the strength to run for the kids in Mali, West Africa, who are having to haul water every day from a mud pit to their villages. And he has. She is today, symptom free and off all medications. While I was forced out of training three times this summer due to ankle injuries, Linda has been the energizer bunny. Nothing stops her. I’m so inspired by her and other heroes in our church that have overcome amazing odds, that despite my own inability to now run this marathon, I’m going to walk it.
Linda’s is just one story. There are many other similar ones. I do hope that you pray for every one of them. And if you have not yet supported a runner for at least a mile, please do. If all of us who are not running will support just one runner for one mile, every runner will reach their goal.
So what’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done? Does that even compare to what those 7 year old girls in Mali, West Africa are doing every day? Mine neither.
So let’s do something about it. Let’s support those in our church who are doing the hardest thing they’ve ever done. $50 supports a runner for one mile, and one child drinks clean water for the rest of their life.