Do you have what it takes to keep running? Every one of us, at one time or another, feels tired. We want to give up, to stop running the race. Listen: the God of all Creation gives us encouragement; He sends many different signs. Every time that I see this picture of my niece, I am reminded to keep running.

My niece had the anchor on her high school's 4x1 relay team. On this particular day, tension was high at the meet and her parents, sister and I screamed ourselves silly. That was our contribution to the race. The race was already tight and the runners close when my niece received the baton and she took off like a shot. She was actually in the lead when we saw something white flash into the air behind her. She had run out of her cleats!

Horrified, we stopped cheering for a minute as our minds assessed the rough terrain of the track. Suddenly, it had become the enemy. We were sure that it was over; she wouldn't be able to run barefoot (one sock was gone, too!). To our surprise, she didn't miss a beat. Yes, she slowed a bit but she kept going and WON THE RACE! As we screamed and jumped behind the fence, one of my niece's teammates came running to the finish line with the sock and shoes.

Is the hardship there? Yes. Is it painful? Undoubtedly. Are you tired? Don't give up. Sometimes we give up when the finish line is just ahead. Keep running...without the shoe.