Don’t Give Up

By Jim Burns

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”

1 Corinthians 9:24–25 KJV

Interpretation: “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.”

1 Corinthians 9:24–25

I’m a runner—not Olympic quality; in fact, maybe I shouldn’t call myself a runner. I run. Most of the time I even enjoy running! It started back when I was sixteen when the minister at my church challenged us to write down some goals for life. I still don’t know why I did this but I wrote down that I wanted to run a marathon. At the time I had never driven 26.2 miles—let alone run them.

I did absolutely nothing about that goal for about twenty years. Then one day I woke up and told my wife Cathy I wanted to run in the Los Angeles Marathon. She laughed. Ouch! The first day I went out and bought expensive running shoes, running shorts, running socks, and receive. Opinions on what to do with the money vary — Walter Lee (Poitier) wants to make a business investment, while his mother, Lena (McNeil), wants to buy the family a house. This film offers two differing views of the American Dream and is equipped with intelligent dialogue, beautiful photography, and honest characterizations. Poitier and McNeil were both nominated for Best Actor/Actress in a Drama at the 1962 Golden Globes for their performances. a headband, but I didn’t have time to run. The next day I ran a mile. Can I be honest and personal? I hated it. The problem was that I had spent a good deal of money on “running stuff” and told half the world I was going to run in this marathon. Almost every day I ran, and some of those days I almost even enjoyed it.

With two months until the marathon, I still had only run ten miles at a time, and on that day I thought I was going to pass out! Now was the time to really move into high gear. I kept on keeping on. Mile after mile. Day after day. Okay, so there were days Cathy pushed me out the door.

All of a sudden the day of the marathon arrived. It was just me and fifteen thousand others. Wow! If they could do it, so could I. My goal was to finish…in one day. The first thirteen miles were a breeze. At mile fifteen I caught a glimpse of Cathy and my girls cheering me on. No sweat, this marathon goal was a breeze. At mile seventeen I ate an orange. Immediately, I wanted to vomit, go to the bathroom, sleep, and stop! In fact, I was seriously considering doing all of the above at the same time. I hurt. I took my pulse and found some positive news. I wasn’t dead. So, I slowed my pace and kept going. I don’t remember miles seventeen through twenty-two. Then for some reason all my practice paid off. I got my second wind and coasted to the finish line with bands playing and my family cheering.

The first words out of my mouth were, “I never want to do this again!” I was tired. I was sore. I was in pain. (I was sweating!) After a brief rest, my feelings changed from exhaustion to pure excitement. My months of practice paid off. It worked. Discipline works.

God wants us to keep on keeping on. He doesn’t ask us to do great and grand things for his Kingdom. He asks us to be consistent and faithful. A consistent, faithful person is the one who gets more accomplished over the long haul. www.homeword.com

The goal of Sudoku is to fill a 9×9 grid with numbers so that each

Clues Across

1. Shed tears

5. Luxury jewelry designer

10. Goddess of wisdom

12. Convert into a particular form

14. Working-class people

16. It borders Canada (abbr.)

18. A princess can detect its presence

19. Red-brown sea bream

20. Defunct retail empire

22. Vase

23. Demeter’s equivalent

25. Monetary unit of the Maldives

26. French and Belgian river

27. Small amount

28. High schoolers’ test

30. Animal’s foot

31. Some is red

33. Per __: each

35. Swedish jazz pop duo

37. Plate for Eucharist

38. Train line

40. Russian pop duo

41. Stake

42. Plant by scattering

44. Female sibling

45. City of Angels hoopsters (abbr.)

48. Popular cookie brand

50. Group of Niger-Congo languages

52. A team’s best pitcher

53. Vomits

55. 19th letter of Greek alphabet

56. Men’s fashion accessory

57. Its capital is Pierre (abbr.)

58. Expensive cut of steak

63. Popular James Cameron film

65. A __: relating to knowledge gleaned from deduction

66. Kids’ snow toys

67. Flip side to yin

Clues Down

1. Global public health agency

2. Snake-like fish

3. Midway between northeast and east

4. Dabbed

5. TV show

6. Folk singer DiFranco

7. Canadian flyers

8. Of the dowry

9. Commercial

10. The act of imitating

11. Equipment used to broadcast radio or TV signals

13. Lands of an emir

15. Swiss river

17. Island

18. Monetary unit of Afghanistan

21. One who surrenders under agreed conditions

23. Garfield is one

24. A baglike structure in a plant or animal

27. Small boats used in the Black Sea

29. Small savory Spanish dishes

32. Body part

34. Touch lightly

35. Popular grilled foods on a stick

36. __ Hess: oil company

39. Antelope with a reddish coat

40. Pharaoh of Lower Egypt

43. Pink Floyd’s Roger

44. Short and thick

46. Small, sac-like cavities

47. Performer __-Lo

49. Entrails of animal used as food

51. __ King Cole, musician

54. Where construction is done

59. Chap

60. Investment vehicle

61. Often mixed with tonic

62. Holiday beverage egg __

64. Against