Lessons from a Track Meet: Clearing Hurdles

On our recent trip to the Midwest I attended a seventh and eighth grade track meet where a swarm of boys and girls who will begin shaving and wearing adult clothes in the next twelve to eighteen months impersonated Olympic competitors. A few shook nervously tingling from their hands as they stood at the starting blocks, some swung their arms about as if trying to reach an itching spot in the middle of their upper back, and a few roamed around aimlessly. (I think they may have been looking for an afternoon snack!) Parents lined low fence barriers separating them from their prepubescent offspring contestants. Junior high track meets are serious business, you know. Competitors will vie for university scholarships in only six or seven years, and one never knows when the scouts for the International Olympic Games will attend a meet and choose those destined to stand on podia representing the red, white and blue in 2020! Having lived in large cities, I am familiar with the sound of gunshots and react instinctively. The impulse to duck and hide so many times in a single one hour span tired me out as the starter’s pistol popped repeatedly. It is impossible to find hiding places in a 100-acre open field. “Hurdles” is a fascinating event. Boys with fast-growing legs too long for their torso modeled an amusing assortment of athletic wear. At the gunshot they broke from the starting line. As the mixture of skinny arms and legs flailed about approaching the first hurdle, the winner was easy to identify. He never broke stride! Others were “stutter stepping” as they tried to time their forward leap, shortening and lengthening their paces. The leaders had obviously practiced and knew how long each pace needed to be and how many steps were needed to bring them to the next hurdle. Olympic caliber, world record holding hurdler, Kevin Young, raised the bar for all competitors by lengthening his stride for hurdles four and five, taking twelve instead of the standard thirteen steps. By reducing the race by two steps, he became the best in the world. Young established a rhythm, adjusted the pace, to gain a tiny advantage and bested all others. Practiced, rhythmic disciplines conditioning the inner man allow us to clear hurdles in life. Challenges, barriers, distractions and delays are common. They are part of the race. A cursory look at the word “usual” in a Bible concordance will lead one to Jesus who established rhythms in prayer. Elijah’s “custom” was to spend time at a widow’s home, a prelude to miracles. Daniel’s routines are legendary. Our first faith steps are frequently as gawky and poorly paced as twelve-year-old hurdlers, but if we will repeatedly count the steps, stay with the routines, clear the hurdles, and lean forward at the finish line, we will complete the race. We are urged forward with, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)