(Anchorman quotes are always relevant!)

Yesterday I entered into my last phase of training for the Bracknell half-marathon (9th May), running 12 miles a week before the final race. I spent the day hobbling around, and woke up this morning feeling pretty stiff, waddling rather than walking!

It’s a classic example of the often neccessary stretching and pain we go through when we are growing and devloping in our lives, spiritually as well as emotionally and physically. As I am running further distances, my aches and pains are part of the development process. What used to hurt after running 4 miles, now is easy and painfree.

A good friend and mentor prophesied to me recently about a time I am heading into being a time of growing and stretching for me. He warned me that it wouldn’t be easy, and now I’m beginning to head into this time, I’m beginning to see its not! Things are more complex, at times tiring, difficult sometimes, and I can feel the stretch! But its so important in my development, as a man, as a follower of Jesus, as a leader, as a future husband & father.

God wants you to grow in areas of your life, whether relationally with family or friends, maybe with more responsibility at work or church, growing in your relationship with him. But realise that a great deal of the time, this development, this stretching time will not be easy. It may feel uncomfortable, annoying, difficult, complicated, hopeless even. But if you can push through this time, keep pushing on, keep training, keep developing, you will find yourself looking back at this time wondering what all the fuss was about! What hurts now, will seem like nothing in the future.

I know the ‘running a race’ image is used so often, but let’s think about the training in our lives we go through, and not just the final race. Only the fool will enter into races without training and devloping.
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