I Did It!

So today I did it I ran my first 5K.  I loved it.  It was really inspiring.  I can't wait for my next race. Would anyone like to join me?   I found this excerpt from a talk given by President Thomas S. Monson.  I hope you enjoy it.

A favorite poem of mine gives to each of us the challenge:

Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you; 
Beginners are many, but enders are few. 
Honor, power, place and praise 
Will come, in time, to the one who stays. 
Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you; 
Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it too; 
For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile 
Will come life’s victories, after awhile.

Let us remember the advice from Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher, “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,” but to they who “endure to the end.” The Apostle Paul further counseled: “They which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize. … So run, that ye may obtain.”

In the private sanctuary of one’s own conscience lies that spirit, that determination, to cast off the old person and to measure up to the stature of true potential. But the way is rugged and the course is strenuous. So discovered John Helander from Göteborg, Sweden. John is twenty-six years of age and is handicapped, in that it is difficult for him to coordinate his motions.

At a youth conference in Kungsbacka, Sweden, John took part in an 800-meter running race. He had no chance to win. Rather, his was the opportunity to be humiliated, mocked, derided, scorned. Perhaps John remembered another who lived long ago and far away. Wasn’t He mocked? Wasn’t He derided? Wasn’t He scorned? But He prevailed. He won His race. Maybe John could win his.

What a race it was! Struggling, surging, pressing, the runners bolted far beyond John. There was wonderment among the spectators. Who is this runner who lags so far behind? The participants on their second lap of this two-lap race passed John while he was but halfway through the first lap. Tension mounted as the runners pressed toward the tape. Who would win? Who would place second? Then came the final burst of speed; the tape was broken. The crowd cheered; the winner was proclaimed.

The race was over—or was it? Who is this contestant who continues to run when the race is ended? He crosses the finish line on but his first lap. Doesn’t the foolish lad know he has lost? Ever onward he struggles, the only participant now on the track. This is his race. This must be his victory. No one among the vast throng of spectators leaves. Every eye is on this valiant runner. He makes the final turn and moves toward the finish line. There is awe; there is admiration. Every spectator sees himself running his own race of life. As John approaches the finish line, the audience, as one, rises to its feet. There is a loud applause of acclaim. Stumbling, falling, exhausted but victorious, John Helander breaks the newly tightened tape. Officials are human beings, too. The cheering echoes for miles. And just maybe, if the ear is carefully attuned, that Great Scorekeeper—even the Lord—can be heard to say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

Each of us is a runner in the race of life. Comforting is the fact that there are many runners. Reassuring is the knowledge that our Eternal Scorekeeper is understanding. Challenging is the truth that each must run. But you and I do not run alone. That vast audience of family, friends, and leaders will cheer our courage, will applaud our determination as we rise from our stumblings and pursue our goal. The race of life is not for sprinters running on a level track. The course is marked by pitfalls and checkered with obstacles. We take confidence from the hymn:

Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed, 
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid. 
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, … 
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand. … 
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose 
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes; 
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, … 
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!

Let us shed any thought of failure. Let us discard any habit that may hinder. Let us seek; let us obtain the prize prepared for all, even exaltation in the celestial kingdom of God.