By Steve Higginbotham
On May 20, 1978, Mavis Hutchinson, at the age of 53, became the first woman to run all the way across the United States. Beginning in Los Angeles, she finished her run 2,871 miles later in New York City. If that weren’t amazing enough, she completed this race in only 70 days, which required her to average 41 miles a day!
I don’t know about you, but I find this accomplishment hard to believe! But it’s true; it really happened. Talk about stamina and perseverance! As I reflected on her accomplishment that occurred a little more than 32 years ago, a spiritual application came to my mind.
An important truth we should remember is that as Christians, we are not in a sprint, but in a marathon. Discipleship requires pace more than speed; calm constancy more than frenetic activity; daily commitment more than emotional highs; and a sustained candlelight more than a momentary fireworks display.
It couldn’t have been easy for Mavis Hutchinson to run all the way across the United States, but she did it. And likewise, it cannot be easy for a child of God to daily deny self, take up a cross and follow Jesus, but there is a great cloud of witnesses who testify to us that it can be done (Hebrews 12:1)!