picking up my marathon package, bitter sweet moment

 On Friday afternoon we traveled Athens by Metro, from Larissa station to Syntagma and walked towards the Zapion Exhibition & Congress Hall where the Marathon Expo was taking place. When we got there it was so overwhelming to see all the runners, all the excitement of such event. It was particular difficult for me because I was not going to run the Marathon. I felt like I failed, I felt shame and I felt defeated. I was training well and I was eating and resting properly and I could not believe that I hurt my ankle and I was not able to complete the training. This reminds me of Galatians 5:7-10
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? ⁸ That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹ “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” ¹⁰ I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty.

I have been meditating on the word of God and trying to really give it a thought of what it means to run the good race. All during the visit here in Greece I met with several runners and most of them are also had an injury and they were going to run the marathon anyway. Many of them told me that I should do the same and run even when I have not completed the training. At one point I got excited and I asked myself why not, I was convinced that not running would mean being a looser or a chicken for not trying. So I was excited because I thought I would run it and I would still get my marathon medal. 

Knocking at Church of Panaghia Kapnikarea

Last Thursday I had to submit an assignment for my class, Introduction to Ministry, I needed to submit a book review. It was about “Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome”  by Kent and Barbara Hughes. The book is all about the call for ministry and how people measure success and define if a ministry is successful or a failure. The authors then summarize that God did not called us to be successful but to be among other things faithful, 1 Cor 4:1-2 "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful". So I thought of what I read and what I was trying to do and it felt that I was not doing the right thing. It felt that I wanted my ego to be fixed and feel proud about still trying something that seemed both silly and foolish to do. Running a Marathon without the proper training. 

I had to believe that I will get the chance to run my first Marathon with all the excitement and sense of victory that come with it. Funny enough this is like waiting for the groom and abstaining from having sex before marriage. Don’t laugh that is how this is. I felt like if I was going to be around the marathon and run just the last four miles just to have the medal, I would be cheating and I would have no value for the medal. I felt if I did not run it would be like going to my wedding without getting married and finally if I ran/walked the marathon it would feel like having a sexual relation and going to get married afterwards, why? Well, how can you taste the marathon and have a great expectation of the second time around if the first marathon was not exciting and had not the component of fulfillment and accomplishment?So Saturday I went back to the expo and asked them if I could downgrade the Marathon to a 10 K and the answer was positive. I had peace and I was excited once again, I don’t have to prove anything to anyone and my ego was sentence back into his cage hopefully for a long time!