Tenacity Wins the Race

By Brenda Black

I tearfully watched as one after another of thousands of runners willed their wearied legs toward the finish line. Some ran for the first time a race that far and hard. Their grimaced lips and tear-filled eyes revealed the pain of the process and relief for its culmination. Some tested their endurance for the hundredth race, cruising past in steady strides, with experience breathing in and out as evenly. From the first timers to the Olympic qualifiers, each one reached their destiny powered by tenacity.

Half wincing, half intrigued, I witnessed a man pull nails out of a board with his mouth, in pursuit of a Guinness World Record. His tenacity demanded steely concentration, as well as tough teeth! In a room filled with photographers, judges and reporters, he never lost focus, but annihilated the nails and beat the clock as if he ate hammers for breakfast.

A young, female doctor who owns a brand new clinic is home on maternity leave, planning how she'll juggle a newborn and 8,000 small and large animal patients. She tells me she'll take her race one leg at a time and handle the tough test of dual commitment and a divided heart. She's filled with tenacious optimism and determined to balance family and career.

They all remind me yet again of the amazing potential of the human spirit and body when one puts his or her mind to something and compels the heart to follow. While their examples are inspiring, it is also humbling to think of how little I often expect from myself. A bit of pain or inconvenience and I might be prone to take the shorter, easier route. At the end of that decision, I have to wonder, did the short cut leave me more fulfilled or empty. Will I know that I left it all on the field and played this game of life to win, pushing the limits of my own human possibilities, if I never do the hard stuff or try something out of my comfort zone?

Stepping out in faith and fortitude takes effort. Marathon runners don't wake up on race day and go 26.2 miles without building up the stamina, one step, one mile at a time. Guinness record breakers know the target before they ever make the attempt, and they practice, practice, practice. Moms count the cost and factor in the blessings to be the best they can be for their babies, in spite of the tears and trials. After weighing the odds and looking to the prize, the tenacious go to work to see their dreams become reality.

How about you? What's on your radar or your bucket list? Have you decided it's time for a little self-improvement? The only one who can make it happen is you.

Take the first step. Keep the focus. Find the balance. Be tenacious and finish the race.

Clearly a Winner

By Brenda Black

And they're off! Out of the gate, the beautiful Thoroughbreds seemed evenly matched and mounted. A wave of chestnut, grey, sorrel and bay on the bottom and fuchsia, teal, green and yellow on top blurred past the grandstands. For three bends of the track they stayed tightly packed, but on that final turn, endurance and expertise separated the winners to the front and to the finish. In a little over a minute, victory won and a day's work completed.

A trip to Lexington, KY, demands viewing a good horse race at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. The runners we watched weren't Triple Crown contenders, but they were just as fun to cheer as any Cigar or Man O War. With no money wagered, I had nothing to lose. But I still analyzed the gorgeous creatures in the paddock and picked my favorites, then hooped and hollered them into the winner's circle.

Having never been to Churchill Downs, I was tickled to see how close I could get to the contenders prior to their run. Each equine beauty passed within a few feet of where I stood behind the rail circling the staging area. The race analyst talked about each entry's track record, their breeding and age. She predicted who would run well on this grassy track and who would falter.

While she methodically itemized odds and numbers that meant nothing to me, I sized up the potential winner an entirely different way. I looked into their eyes, observed their eagerness or complacency. I noted how they walked in soundness and also with attitude. While others may have been doing the math in their heads, I was looking for the horse's heart and spirit. I backed the one that looked and acted like a winner. My pick, Number 9, did not disappoint. The glistening, stately sorrel crossed the finish ahead and alone with grace and glory!

I want to be like him! Not for the wins down here that are just as fleeting as the high-speed performance in a race that last a minute and the post-win celebration only a smidgen longer. I want to be like Him! Not to please a fickle audience that instantly forgets the hard-earned notoriety and is instantly consumed with the next line-up as the present winner heads back to the stable to eat hay in anonymity.

I want to be like the winner not for the photos and pats on the back or the cool splash of water over his head and the circle of doting investors. I want to be like him for his heart – to be the one who separates himself from the pack and clearly shows his colors. I want to be like the winner who visibly demonstrates a determined spirit. I want to be like the winner who gives it everything to the finish. I want to be like the winner who thinks clearly, strategically out-maneuvering the opposition. I want to be a winning Christian who looks for heaven and never looks back!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)

In this life-long race, made of millions of furlongs, Lord give me a sound mind, a fierce spirit, and an eye fixed on the finish! Help me run the race with grace and enter in to glory! If I can fly like these amazing steeds across the heavens at my end, I'll be victorious and blessed. Whether I wear a wreath of roses or a diamond filled crown, what a thrill it will be to lay them at the feet of Jesus when my race is run.

Worth the Hurt to Find a Cure

By Brenda Black

Prior to last Saturday, I had never noticed how many bricks pave the Butler, MO, square. Sure, I noticed the thumping vibration under car tires every time I drove those roads during the past 30 years. But I hadn't stopped to consider the quantity. When you lap the courthouse 28 times, you begin taking account – of each brick... each step...every puddle and piece of gravel. More than the bricks under my Nikes, I counted the blessings of such a beautiful day for so many beautiful lives.

It was a perfect day. For some a miraculous day. Last Saturday, as I walked in support and to help raise funds for cancer research, dozens more walked as survivors. When my feet ached, I thanked God for feet to walk. When my knees ached, I thought of the pain that cancer patients have endured. When my pony tail flapped in the cool breeze, I thought of all the beautiful women who lost their flowing tresses to cancer treatment. When my hips hollered, “How much more of this?” I thought of the hours that cancer patients spent in sick beds or the hours lost in lives cut short.

With great ease, we can slip into our lives of comfort and quickly forget that others fight for every moment. Though I do not bear the burden of a deadly disease, I live each day in a battle with chronic pain. So the walk I took on Saturday hammered my legs with terrible pain as I padded along, and for the following several days. With rest and care, I'll recuperate and go again. I've gotten used to it.

Still, some ask me how I can keep smiling when I am hurting. It's a choice I tell them. And I truly believe that a happy heart is good medicine and helps significantly. Obviously I am not the only one who chooses joy. As far removed as I am from being able to relate with the fear and horrors of cancer, I can thoroughly appreciate the amazing resilience and positive attitudes of those who choose to live victoriously in spite of that “Big C” wicked enemy!

Two victorious survivors!

Relay for Life events are a testimony of the tenacious, a witness to the winners, a dance for the determined and a celebration for the conquerors. I was blessed to participate with the Bates County Cattlemen and CattleWomen's team. And I was compelled to keep moving over those thousands of bricks by the inspiration of all the every-day heroes represented that day.

To everyone who planned the event, to all the teams who contributed, to every care giver, family member and cancer patient, I say God bless! It was worth the hurt to find a cure.

I wonder if that is what Jesus thought when He hung on the cross. He suffered in anguish, enduring horrific pain to cure all mankind from wicked sin. Even before He willingly went to Calvary, Christ explained in every-day terms the higher purpose, the greater good, the incredible joy that would come on the heels of indescribable hurt.

“'A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.'” (John 16:21-22)

Jesus promised that His pain and the grief of His supporters and followers would one day be met with perfect peace. “'I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.'” (Jn. 16:33)

No matter how sick, tired, or anguished a person becomes, there is hope on the other side of the hurt when Christ bears the pain with us. And He has proven faithful. Jesus Christ proclaimed you worth it and walked a narrow, rocky, lonely, excruciating path to be the ultimate cure. For each one who trusts the Savior, joy will come in full measure. And one day, there will be no sickness or sorrow, but peace and joy and the perfect cure.

Cat Walk

By Brenda Black

On a normal morning, my Labrador greets me bouncing gleefully. She knows we're going for a walk down the road if I step out of the house early, and shod in my Sauconies. It's her chance to sniff to her heart's content and follow that nose for short, excited road-side adventures. She gets to stretch aging legs that spend too much time on concrete where she lay trying to keep cool in this blistering heat. For me, it's a way to clear my mind for the work ahead and burn off calories before they touch my lips and hips. We make a pretty good team. But once in a great while, we are joined by another companion – the cat. Then the walk looks a whole lot different.

My dog understands the drill. She jogs along perfectly positioned ahead, alongside or behind. She is confident and knows the course we trod and paces herself according to my gait. The cat, on the other hand, doesn't have a clue. Yet she pretends to be in charge. So with every 10 steps I take, she bolts from behind, pounces ahead and inconveniently drops and rolls playfully right in my path. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was trying to kill me!

I acknowledge her cuteness as I sidestep the fur-ball hurdle that could hurl me flat on my face. She pulls her catastrophic escapades three or four more calculated times before she gives up the game and wanders to the ditch to pursue smaller game. Today, she hung with us for well over a mile. Of course, as we stepped lively, she finally fell behind far enough to stop tripping me and far enough to have me keep looking over my shoulder to make sure she was still safe.

Before we finally reached home, I had scooped up the panting, far-less cocky cat and was hauling her little worn-out self the rest of the journey. She discovered she didn't know the way and she most certainly wasn't the leader.

Believers today can fall into any of these categories: the Faithful, Joyful, Confident Canine; the Determined Disciple; or the Know-it-All Kitty that trips the rest of us up and slows down the progress. Which are you?

The Book of John addresses each.

“When Jesus spoke again to the people he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'” (John 8:12) My dog knows the way because she follows her master consistently. She could walk it alone, but she never does. She'd rather walk it with me. Oh, to be a believer who spends so much time with the Savior that we know which way He's going and we long to stick near Him.

When we walk, I get time and space to talk with the Lord. Often, I simply listen. But just as it takes self-discipline to get up and get down that road early in the morning, likewise we are called to accept some pretty heavy doctrine from an omnipotent God. We are to believe even when it is hard to understand. It takes determination to be a disciple when the world is telling you that you are on the wrong path. John records in chapter 6 that Jesus turned some fickle followers off when they heard him speak of feeding on Himself. I'd have to admit that would be a bit hard interpret. But for those who grasped His eternal meaning, they became more than disciples – they became His children.

“On hearing it, many of his disciples said, 'This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?'

“Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, 'Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe...' Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.'” (Jn. 6:60-69)

Hopefully, you are gleefully committed and/or dutifully determined. If not either of these, you might be in danger of being a fickle feline wandering aimlessly, and tripping others on your misguided adventure.