DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Finish Your Race, Even On Broken Leg!
© NaimaLett.com/blog

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I cried.
Yep. I sure did.

Not at USA’s Ashton Eaton’s winning the decathlon, though amazing.
Not at USA’s women’s soccer team taking gold, though exciting.
Not at Usain Bolt’s declaration of his ‘legend’ status, though expected.

But I cried when I learned what USA sprinter & first-time Olympian from Moorseboro, NC, Manteo Mitchell kept saying to himself when he broke his leg running the 4×400 Olympic relay yesterday and continued sprinting in excruciating pain to finish his part of the race:

“Faith, focus, finish. Faith, focus, finish,” he said. “That’s the only thing I could say to myself.”

Faith.
Focus.
Finish.
I still feel it now.

Fam, isn’t this an incredible picture of our run with the Lord? Does He ask anything more of us but to have faith in Him, focus on what He’s asking us to do each day and finish our race?

In Paul’s last letter to his ‘son’ in the ministry, Timothy, Paul is imprisoned and knows his execution is near. Yet Paul says that he finishes his race.

2 Timothy 4:6-8
For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Nothing that I have yet faced is as difficult as Paul being imprisoned and executed for his faith. If he can fight the good fight, finish his race and keep his faith, can I not do the same?

If Manteo Mitchell can break his leg while running and keep on running in unimaginable pain to finish his race, can we not do the same?

What’s your broken leg?
Broken finances?
Broken dreams?
Broken relationships?

What is it?

Come on, Fam, if we’ve got to hobble across our finish line, let’s finish our race!

We’ve got other people depending on us. Manteo had 3 other guys with Olympic dreams who had worked night and day to get to London and they were waiting on him to pass the baton. He was just the first leg. And those 3 other guys, who had no idea Manteo’s leg was broken, ran like somebody was chasing them to cross the finish line 2nd in their qualifying heat. Do you think I won’t be cheering and hollering at them all the way to their finish line tonight?!

They will win, regardless of the medal line up, because Manteo did something that has spoken volumes into all of our lives. He didn’t quit.

Even with a broken leg, he finished his race.
Fam, broke leg and all, let’s commit to finishing today.

Let’s commit to leaving nothing undone that we’re here to do.
Let’s determine we will not give up, give in or fall out.
We will fight the good fight. We will finish the race. We will keep the faith.

Anybody with me?
Naima

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