{ Not an Option }

There was this girl who used to run around the high school track. She made it look so easy, just jogging along, her dark ponytail swinging back and forth. I remembered telling my friend who I was walking with, "Someday, we'll be cool like her." I giggle thinking about it now. I bet even she had days when putting one foot in front of the other felt monumental.
Now that I'm more like that girl, maybe not as fast, but still....
I have those kind of days.
This morning, I hit the track and after one lap felt sure I couldn't go on, much less tuck into another 27! There's something about doing a thing even when you feel like its impossible. Legs refuse, lungs lug, sides stitch, and yet.....you keep going. Today I made it all 28 laps, or four miles, and even though I had to convince myself to keep going at every turn, I learned that I can do it. On my worst days, I can do it.
As I ran, I thought of the gospel and our lives. Don't you have those days when eternity is in sight, and you're sure nothing could shake your resolve? And then there are the ones where you can hardly sink to your knees to pray. You know the ones.
The solution is the same. Nothing worth doing is ever easy; not losing weight, not gaining strength, not painting a picture, or writing a story or gaining eternal life.
So we keep running, we keep praying, we keep writing, painting or gardening....even when it seems impossible to continue, even when nothing feels right. We may run slower or pray through our tears, but we keep doing it because we know its good. We know we can. And somehow God makes up the rest. Because....He loves us.
Today I ran four miles on the track and a marathon in my head. Never quit. If it's worth it, quitting is not an option.