Peace Within

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led fourth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Isaiah 55:12

Tomorrow will be my 25th marathon. I have not approached most marathons with peace. However, this year, I have stood at the starting line of the Houston and Little Rock marathons in peace. I gave the days to God and asked Him to to let me proceed forward in peace and joy; what will be, will be; whether I keeled over and died or I ran a Boston Qualifying time. Tomorrow, I will go out and run with joy to the best of my abilities and to the best that my current training will allow, but leave the journey and results to Him. This is my peace.

The New Jersey Marathon will not include mountains, have very few hills and not have many trees. The marathon itself, no matter where run, always has mountains with peaks and valleys; the times you feel great and the times you feel awful. The "hill" is the 26.2 miles themselves and it gets steeper and steeper as the miles progress. Tomorrow, instead of the trees clapping their hands, the crash of the cold ocean waves onto the hardened sand will be the clap of the hands to offer praise to each runner for their will, perseverance and endurance.

My sister lost her husband this week and I ask God to grant her and their family peace as Eddie begins his new life with God.

As difficult as it sometimes is, go out in life with joy and be led forth with peace. Life is a marathon.