THERE IT IS

Good Friday to You, 
More than any other in the world, this is the place I have been visualizing. This is Westgate Entertainment District…a multi-million dollar retail area near the Arizona Cardinal’s Football Stadium. Ironically, there is nothing at Westgate I want to do or buy. I only want to get there. What? 
Westgate will function as the Finish Line of Sun Health Marathon on February 19th. 
As many of you know, Carol Ann and I began running last summer. It began as a goal to check off a 5K from Carol Ann’s bucket list. Then I read McDougall’s “Born to Run” and the little 5K got a whole lot longer. So for the past several months, Carol Ann has been training for a half marathon and I have been training for a marathon…and it has been grueling. 
To this point, running has not become my second love…or third or fourth…or 331st. Yes, I have enjoyed the challenge of pushing my body past where I thought it could go. I have enjoyed being able to share completing 8 miles, then 10, then 13, 15 and 17. But each of those mile markers have been quite difficult. And along the way, it feels like I have been chasing down one injury just to find the next. 
It all began with my weak left knee (ACL reconstruction in ‘08) and an accompanying atrophied quad. I had to work hard on specific exercises to overcome the pain and popping. Because I changed my running gait, I then struggled with significant pain in the arches of my feet, Achilles tendons, and throbbing calf muscles. Then it was a nasty subcutaneous bruising on my right foot…back pain…IT Band inflammation…a six-week setback due to a hip flexor strain. Let’s just say, my 44-year-old body has not yet bought into the “born to run” theory!
On the runs I want to quit (which is every run), I literally close my eyes and imagine Westgate. 
Running is a metaphor Paul used on multiple occasions to describe living for our Lord. He challenged the Corinthians to run for the prize. To the Ephesian elders he declared his only aim was to finish the race. To Timothy, he celebrated he had done just that. 
Why was Paul so confident about standing before our Lord? 
This Sunday we have the incredible opportunity to picture the finish lines for our lives and the life of our church. Are you confident you are finishing your race? Are you confident you’re even on the right path? We have been invited to participate in a much greater race than any marathon on the planet, and you can begin to get a taste of it by reading Acts 19:11-41 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+19:11-41&version=ESV). 
Will I finish 26.2 miles on February 19th? I’ve never done it before. To this point, my longest distance is 17 miles. I only have two weeks left to train and I’m still fighting two injuries. But one thing I do know…I can clearly see what it will look like to run into Westgate. Funny thing is…I can even feel it. By God’s grace and another two weeks of training, that dream will become a reality! 
Hope to See You Sunday, 
Pastor Michael