Wal-Mart Shoes

The primary factor that made our National Cross Country Invite so challenging that year was mud. We ran on a brand-new course, one that had never been manicured like the golf courses we frequently visited during the season, and the rain fell softly but steadily for several hours before the race. As our ladies charged through the drizzle to claim their second consecutive national championship, they and the others literally TORE UP the course. As the men stepped to the starting line the rain ceased but it had already taken it's toll. Almost the entire race course was a slip-and-slide.

If the course had been good I probably would have run the fastest race of my life. Instead, I felt like I was on a treadmill running in reverse. The harder I tried to run, the more my feet slipped backwards. This was especially true on the hills, where the path was especially muddy and gravity worked against me. It was on the hills that I was most thankful for what I had on my feet- 1/2" spikes. Those slivers of steel dug into the muck and found something to hold on to. Without them I would have barely been able to get up the hills at all.

After the race I found out that one of my team mates had run in tennis shoes from Wal-Mart. I can't imagine how difficult that must have been. It was a such a cold day that he was running a very high risk of pulling a muscle with all of that slipping and sliding. God was definitely looking out for him, but there was no way he could run the race he would have with good shoes.

Why do I tell this story? Last night I was reading 2 Samuel 22:37: "You enlarge my steps under me, and my feet have not slipped." I immediately thought of that race. Living life without God is like running with Wal-Mart sneakers. When you jog around on a flawless, dry gulf course, everything seems fine. Your body isn't getting the support and stability it needs, but the grass is soft so you don't notice.

But when it rains and the grass disappears into the mud, that spikeless life of self-dependence becomes downright dangerous. The hills are an insurmountable struggle. Each turn comes, sharper and steeper than the last, and it takes all your strength and balance just to stay on your feet.

With God, on the other hand, you are equipped with 1" spikes (which I wish I had had that day) that dig deep into the muck and pull you through. God gives us that stability, that foundation, that allows us to move forward with full force. And the Bible also says that He enlarges our steps. We don't have to feel like we are going backwards on a treadmill. Quite the opposite, we will be amazed how much is being accomplished by God's power.

I think it is fitting, therefore, that the following year our motto was "By the power of Christ in me." And God was faithful. Both years, both our men's and women's teams brought home the championship banners.