“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

So, about a week before Christmas, I took a spill during one of my runs. Being that winter was well under way, the sun was already sinking low after I’d come home from work. However, that didn’t deter me from my running goals… I’ll just run on the streets with street lights and if there aren’t any nearby, I’ll just be extra careful… yeah… right…!

After changing my clothes, I got caught up in conversation with my roommates. Before I knew it, I’d lost fifteen more minutes of daylight…! Finally out the door, the sky had changed to a dark blue color as it turned night…

Listening to a podcast of my favorite pastor, I ran through the neighborhood and out to the main road… Though a bit out of shape, I knew I’d need to hurry if I was going to make it before it was too dark to see a foot in front of me.

A year earlier, I’d owned a little headlamp… But somewhere along the way, I ended up giving it up… Oh, how I wished I’d still had that little light now!

About two miles in, I decided to turn around and head home. Though the main street was pretty well lit, it was also noisy… So, I decided to take one of the parallel side streets.

Swept up in the sermon, I was happily running along the sidewalk. A few blocks down it dawned on me to check the street sign so I’d know where to turn back to the main road…

As my eyes strained to see the sign, my feet stumbled on the uneven sidewalk… Before I even knew what was happening, I was well on my way towards the cold, hard cement… Just like the movies, time seemed to be moving in slow-motion as several thoughts raced through my head… I’m falling… I’m actually falling… I’m going to hit the ground! I hope no one is watching… how did this happen? It was as if I was in a time continuum outside of time itself… the Twilight Zone…. doo-do-doo-do, doo-do-doo-do, doo-do-doo-do…!

All at once… chatter… scrape… At the end of someone’s driveway, my knees hit the pavement first followed by my chin… I could feel blood oozing through my brand new running tights…

Trying to pull myself together, I sheepishly looked around to see whether anyone was around to see my graceless descent… I paused… Am I okay? Yep, I’m okay… a little banged up, but I’m fine… no concussion or broken bones… For a couple blocks, I walked a bit gingerly as the pain in my knees subsided, and then I picked up the pace and ran the remaining two miles home.

Now, that fall could have been much worse… It could have been in a street, I could have broken an arm, someone could have been watching to my utter embarrassment… It could have deterred me from running altogether. I mean, who really wants to go out and fall down??

Today during my usual run, with snow falling all around, I realized that the fall back in December hadn’t been enough to keep me from my run today… Though slush was on the ground, I wasn’t afraid of falling…

The old adage is true, “you have to get back up on the horse that threw you…” Life is the same way… When we fall or experience a failure, we cannot simply give up or give in. We will never really know when or if we will fall… But if we don’t go running, we will never cross the finish line either to experience the gratification that comes from finishing the race. Our love of running, our love for life ought to keep us going…

I, for one, am not someone who really likes to fail… The word “risk” is one of my least favorite words… But if we don’t try and go after that which we want, if we don’t risk falling, we will never have the chance at success… The chance at crossing the finish line… We may fall… We might fall numerous times… But we must get up again and again… Because the finish is worth it!

How have you been encouraged to keep running after a “fall?” What was the outcome of your decision to get back up after a “fall?”

pc: Sarah Coffey, Zambia night sky 2016