The 5k of life and the importance of Community

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of going back to my alma mater to participate in a five-kilometer run (5k), which was part of their 50th-anniversary celebration! I try to be active every chance I get, so here was another opportunity to get active and to do something I’ve never done before. In “When God is off the grid” I discussed how involved I was in high school and a lot of that had to do with the people I surrounded myself with.

The excitement of the race showed. Started off at a leisurely pace with occasionally speeding up, laughing, and dancing to the music. While everyone raced everywhere around the school, I just stayed on the track, which seemed boring until I realized my mom and a few others were behind me, cheering me on.

Halfway there! As the race progressed, I felt more confident, and I kept wheeling faster; the guy I was racing along with told me that I had reached the halfway point. So I kept going even faster. I was excited; I was getting others excited. Many finished before I did but, when they were done, they were cheering for me, which made me want to go faster.

The finish I asked the guy whom I had been racing with the entire time to give me an update to see how many more laps I had left to complete, he said “two and a half laps” I let out a sigh of relief which at the time sounded more like a huff and a puff because of the rate my heart was moving at. But when you already did more than 2.5 miles, two laps doesn’t seem that bad, or so I thought.

The fight! My heart was racing, my arms felt like they were going to fall off, and I felt like I was going to faint, but I kept going. I was about to come upon just one and a half lap left, and a group came over to finish the race with me. They kept encouraging me, and I continued to push through, but this time I was slowing down, but they encouraged me, which made the ending pass by quicker, and a 5kiliometer race is 3.1 miles, and I ended up doing 3.4 miles, and I contribute the finish to them. As people, we often love to fix things on our own. We often look at a situation and think about how we can solve the problem, but we don’t ask for help when we really need it. Satan is the father of all lies, and he is good at telling them. One of the biggest lies is when we are in a difficult situation, and we are hurting Satin tries to convince you, “Only you can get yourself out of this situation” “If I admit my struggles with others; people will think less of me” but ever since the begging of time we weren’t supposed to be alone. Genesis 2:18 “The LORD God said “it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” While this verse is God talking about creating Eve, I think this still applies. We were never created to walk through life alone. We need what Galatians 6:2 says is to “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law.” One hundred times throughout the new testament, the phrase “One another” occurs. Anytime we see a phrase mentioned more than once or twice, it adds a level of importance, much less one hundred times. It is beneficial and encouraging to have a group of believers to do life with. Lots of people are willing to go alongside you if you ask. Most importantly, there is a heavenly father who wants to walk you through the struggles of life. Give it to God, and he will give you the stamina to complete the 5k of life.