Four Days to the Finish Line - Faith

I woke this morning with butterflies fluttering around my stomach. You know the feeling. I would much rather write about Kit feeling butterflies around Cullen, but I’m dealing with my own this morning. It’s part fear and part anticipation. In seventy-two hours, I’ll release a book I’ve spent years writing, editing, and re-writing.

If I could count all the words, the total would easily add up to a million - tender, loving, angry, funny words. The final version is an easy read about two wounded people who fall deeply in love and are then struck by tragedy. It's finding the courage to live after that tragedy that becomes the heart of the story.  

In seventy-two hours, I’ll also be running a race I’ve spent months preparing for.

I remember the night I ran that first mile. I told the Lord I couldn’t do it without him. And you know what? He’s never failed me. As 8 miles became 9 and 9 became 10, he was right there beside me. During all those runs in the cold, he never left me to shiver alone.

As the clock ticks toward that final hour when the bugle will sound and 2000 runners will cross the starting line, the Lord will be there saying, “Peace, be still.” It won’t be quiet at Keeneland, by any means, but peace will reign in my heart.

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The following is not an excerpt from THE RUBY BROOCH, but a very fitting devotion from the book Take Heart, Oh God: Riches from the Greatest Christian Women Writers of All Time.

It’s tough to keep going. When our strength is gone, when that next step takes such tremendous effort, when our body screams in protest and our brain has called in sick—what can motivate us to keep moving forward? What reason can trump our tired mind and limbs?

There’s only one: Jesus. Perseverance is born out of faith in him.

Everything else will run out. Our own determination. Desires, or dreams may not be enough to keep us going. But faith in the One who calmed the raging sea, healed the sick, raised the dead, and gave sight to the blind—that will keep us showing up and taking one more step.

Whatever you’ve been called to do, know this: he will provide strength and energy for the work to do it. No matter how tired you are today, faith will help you persevere. Take that next step. Your faith will sustain you.

Happy writing and running, Kathy