Life sometimes is like running a marathon. You train for years and finally you are in the race, the most difficult of all events. For some the race is a long arduous event while for others it is an exhilarating experience. During the race you experience highs and lows, pain and pleasure, as you continue to the final finish line. The marathon, like life, is broken up into milestones. Each new mile brings a new view, new scenery and new challenges.
I will admit that I've never run a marathon, but have witnessed several. Life has been that for me. Starting out in a lower income but loving family with a father who provided as much as he could for a family of seven and a mother who was old fashioned and stayed at home to give us all the support and comfort that she could. They both instilled values of hard work and of caring that each mile of life takes you through. When I became educated and left university and entered a new mile in my life I utilized those values. When I had a child, a beautiful loving daughter, I tried to instill those values in her. I never will be wealthy but I wanted something for her that I didn't have. The Christmas' in my family's house consisted of one gift and maybe a little later in life, two. The giving was not the high point in our life but the aspect of family was. As I ran into fatherhood in my next mile I wanted more for my little girl and her wonderful mother. I worked very hard, sometimes holding five different jobs at once. I was able to give more at Christmas but I did not want to forget the early miles where I was taught to love and value family.
Now I am nearing the last miles of my lifetime marathon. I have a beautiful grandson that my daughter has given me. She and her husband have taken the values that their parents have instilled in them and have been involved in their own marathon. While they are just in the middle part of the race where there is a breaking point of 'will it be pain or will it be pleasure' they will be faced with the challenges that life puts in their journey on their own marathon. Will their son accept the values of hard work and caring? I'm sure he will.
You see, his Mom is a 'real' marathoner. She not only runs these 26.2 mile races but worked extremely hard while her husband was in medical school and in residency. She has experienced the runner's high in both areas- race and life. I, like my mother and father before me, support her as much as I can in her endeavours. I try not to miss her races and want to be a part of her life as long as God allows it. I am so proud of her whether she is in the first mile of her marathon or as she completes the last part of the race. As my life continues down the last part of my marathon I am pleased to be a spectator in hers.
We all have to run our own marathon in life. It is up to all of us to make it to the finish line in the best way possible.
