Disciplined

This morning was the last day of my training. I have successfully ran over 235 miles in preparation for the half marathon on Sunday! In addition to running, I have biked, rollerbladed, lifted weights, and swam. I started thinking about this half marathon back in the middle of March, and began running 2-3 miles a few days a week. In the middle of May I began working out 6 days a week and have been faithful throughout the summer, increasing my miles.

The one word that comes to my mind as I run is discipline. I have become very disciplined over the past 6 months, following my training schedule, getting up early at times, and making time to run. It has been quite the commitment, but something I made a priority and took the time to do. It definitely helped knowing others were training too - I had running buddies and friends to keep me accountable. Having the training schedule was also another help. It allowed me to make my workouts part of my daily routine.

How similar is this to the Christian life? We must become disciplined in order to grow in Him. We need to make spending time with Him part of our regular routine. It's good to have other believers come along beside us to keep us accountable and celebrate our successes. There are 1550 people running in the half marathon on Sunday - I am going to be part of something huge! We have all trained in different ways, but we all have the same end goal. In the Christian life, we all learn and grow differently, but we have the same end goal - living a life for Christ and spending eternity with Him.

Although you may not be joining me for those 13.1 miles on Sunday, I challenge you to become disciplined with your time with the Lord!