Let's Celebrate, The Race to Last Place

Many of us celebrate Independence Day with friends, family, fireworks, parades, picnics, sparklers, and maybe a little apple pie and ice cream.  With hundreds of races being offered across the U.S. on the 4th of July, there is good reason to believe some of us celebrated by gearing up in our red, white, and blue and participated in a local run or walk. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear you had participated in a race, as the 4th of July has the second most race participants behind Thanksgiving. Yet, it would delightfully surprise me if you told me, your goal was to finish the race in last place. We have all heard the phrase “last place is for losers”. Many of us have been conditioned to believe the statement is true, but is it? Is it possible for last place to be the best place? What if a last-place mindset creates space to celebrate the AWE-mazing Race and enjoy a peaceful pace?

Almost ten years ago, I ran my first half-marathon. I was in no shape to run a half-marathon or even a 5k, for that matter. I don’t remember what made me sign up, but I do remember a few things about the race. I remember it was hot! I’m talking sticky, shorts climbing up, sweat when you step, and feel like you are breathing through a wet sock kind of hot. I remember I didn’t stop running to walk, despite my waddle-jog pace being slower than those who wisely mixed walking with running. What I remember the most clearly was a lady in front of me wearing a t-shirt with words that will be forever seared into my memory bank. On the back of her shirt, it read, “Dear God, please let there be someone behind me reading this shirt.” That someone behind her for most of the race was me. Have you ever wanted to move past something or someone and just can’t no matter how hard you try?

Despite my best efforts to pass her. Despite skipping most of the fuel and hydration stations. Despite trying unsuccessfully to run at a faster pace. Despite not pausing for pictures with the iconic Disney landmarks and characters and despite her looking considerably older than me, I finished the race behind her. I didn’t finish in last place, but it felt close enough. My goal was to finish the race without walking, and despite having achieved my goal, I somehow still felt like a failure. To make matters worse, my naturally gifted and super-fit running sister finished with the front-runners and patiently waited for me at the finish line. Have you ever felt like you failed at something despite giving it your all?

When I finally arrived at the finish line, my sister enthusiastically cheered. She congratulated me for finishing and said “I’m proud of you” as they placed one of the few remaining finisher medals around my neck. As we moved through the finisher’s shoot to the post-race snack table, she told me how she started to worry as she had been “waiting a long time”. What I heard her say was she had waited a "loooooong time". I immediately misinterpreted her words as disappointment in my slow as a snail’s pace. She certainly meant nothing by her comment. It is safe to assume, she knew nothing of the t-shirt I had been reading repeatedly throughout the race and had no idea how her words amplified my disappointment in myself. Unintentionally, her words had stung, but I wasn’t sure why. I had achieved my goal, but it didn’t feel like it. Have you ever achieved a goal and neglected to celebrate it because you listened to the voice of judgment or compared your results with someone else’s?

How was it possible, to have finished my first half-marathon and instead of feeling joy I felt disappointed, defeated, and overwhelmingly frustrated? Maybe it was because my attention shifted from my race to the position I was in. My position behind the annoying t-shirt lady resulted in a huge swell of striving at all costs to get ahead of her. The strength I had was for me to run my race at my pace not someone else’s race. I had let the words on one simple t-shirt ignite the quickly exhaustive fuel of pride. Once pride arose it robbed me of the joy of my strength and the energy I needed to finish well. Instead of pacing my race, I tried to keep up, and trying to keep up with someone else’s pace is exhausting. Have you ever spent all you had trying to keep up with someone else?

Almost ten years removed from my first half-marathon, I have discovered when I strive for a position or a certain place in the race marked out for me, I exchange the pace of peace for burn-out and exhaustion. Suddenly, my mind will take control of my heart, shifting from internal drivers to external motivators. My thinking shifts from empathetic to envious. My behaviors transform from compassion for others along my path to indifference to their struggles and challenges. Furthermore, instead of enjoying the race and celebrating the finish, my self-serving senses go on high alert. I interpret negatively what people say and assume they think the worst. When I embrace a mindset of striving, I am transported away from the AWE-mazing Race I am supposed to run with my pace crew to a lonely place of barely breathing on the treadmill of monotony. A boring, stay-in-one-place treadmill with a screen of unwelcomed results continually staring back at me. Have you ever noticed when running on the treadmill you start staring at the time and five minutes can feel like forever?

Growing up in our society has taught most of us to sprint and strive for first place but what if this conditioned way of thinking should be reversed? What if we miss out on living a life of more abundance because we fear not coming in first?  What if the AWE-mazing Race we’re talking about is so much bigger than a local 5k or even 100k but instead it is the ultra-endurance race of the life marked out before us? Speaking of Mark, a faithful forerunner in the faith, wrote these words of Jesus, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” (NLT). Another translation of this quote reads “he must be content to be last” (TPT) while another reads “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.” (MSG). Have you ever been late or finished something slower than you wanted because you were helping someone else?

At first glance, this statement may lead us to think we are being encouraged to be complacent and settle into a status quo life. What do you think? Do you think he is telling us we are supposed to do less than our best and sandbag it to come in last place? I don’t believe that is the case. Multiple other times we are reminded to work hard and be good stewards of what we have been given. What if this is actually an invitation to life, liberty and true happiness? When we let go of striving to get ahead and start pacing with humility and service we discover abundant living, new freedom, and the joy of celebrating others. Have you ever thought there must be more to life than running through each day the same way?

What if our perfect pace is found when we humbly celebrate the grace of reaching our mile markers and gracefully encouraging and celebrating others when they pass theirs? If our pace is too fast it becomes difficult to talk, let alone cheer loudly for someone else. Many years ago, during one of my college exercise physiology classes, we learned about the talk test. The talk test is a simple, cheap, and semi-effective way to measure relative exertion which helps with pacing. If we run at a pace too fast our body will let us know as we will start gasping for air and it can become almost impossible to talk. I imagine most of us know this feeling. Have you ever found it hard to breath just navigating the routines of your day?

Some of us have felt it while we chased our toddlers around or when we courageously tried to run our first mile in a long time. I know the feeling all too well from when I tried to pass the lady wearing the dreaded t-shirt. A general rule of thumb for a long run is to make sure you can hold a light conversation throughout the run. This is one of the reasons it is good to have someone with you when you are running on the trail or running through life. A divine rule for the AWE-mazing Race is to apply the talk test principle to help find your perfect pace. Have you considered conversing with the Creator and those he created around you to help you restore your race to the perfect pace?

As perfect pace is restored, we shift from barely breathing and feeling as if we are falling behind to being able to focus on enjoying the gift of the race. We start living light-hearted and find new delights throughout our journey. When I started the journey to launch Live Light-her over a year ago, my goal was to have our flagship product, our sports bra, on the market today along with other products. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Although things are not where I had hoped they would be, I am learning. I am gradually working through the proces of being okay with going at a different pace. At the start of this year and several times throughout the past few months, I have became anxious and tried to pick up my pace to get in front of feeling behind. Somehow, trying to go faster doesn't seem to help. Instead, I am finding peace in practicing the divine talk test often. This practice has allowed me to shift my focus back to enjoying the race and helping others along in their race. Have you considered talking with a life coach, counselor or trusted companion to help you navigate your journey?

This morning as I did my training run, I ran right into a train of people going the other way. I realized they were participating in our local Fourth of July 5k and for a moment, I got so caught up in their race, that I felt like I was running the wrong way. They were about a mile from their start, and I was about a mile from finishing my ten-mile training run. As I passed them going the other way I tried to smile and tell them “Good work, keep going” as much as I possibly could. Despite the heat, with each smile or wave reflected at me, I started enjoying my run again with a renewed energy to finish my race. This brief encounter of less than a mile allowed me to realize my divine race is uniquely designed for me. It may feel like my journey is taking a lot longer as I run the opposite way but it’s okay because my perfect pace is set for last place. Have you ever felt like you are going the wrong way but you know in your heart it is the right way?

As you celebrate Independence Day, may you also celebrate the freedom of worrying less about your race position and shedding the weight of expectations. May you be brave enough to enter your AWE-mazing Race to last place and humble enough to encourage the person in front of you, even if they are wearing an annoying t-shirt. May your strength be renewed as you go at the pace of perfect peace. May you pause to celebrate your mile markers as well as others. May you go forth knowing the way to life, liberty, and true happiness is possible. As I follow the ways of my friend, Jesus, I am learning to pace with the unforced rhythms of grace. If you don’t know him yet, keep going and keep seeking until you find the truth. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. I’m cheering for you!