Often it’s the everyday things that prepare us for the hard thing

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rev Carolyn Skinner.

Good morning.

Cliff Young was an Australian farmer who ran an ultramarathon in 1983, aged 61. He arrived to compete in overalls and work boots (though he did end up accepting a pair of trainers), and without his dentures because they rattled when he ran! He ran at a slow pace, which became known as the Cliff Young shuffle, and trailed the pack by a large margin at the end of the first day. While the other competitors stopped to sleep, Cliff Young woke up at 2am and kept running. He ran 544 miles nonstop, and after 5 days and 15 hours finished in 1st place, 10 hours ahead of everyone else, and completely unaware that there was a prize!

Before running the race, he told the press that he had previously run for two to three days straight rounding up sheep in gumboots. He said that during the race he imagined he was running after sheep trying to outrun a storm. He had built endurance through everyday life, and wasn’t fazed by flashy brands, new techniques or toned athletes around him.

Often it’s the everyday things that prepare us for the hard thing. The slow and steady rhythms of creating good habits, habits that will strengthen our bodies, protect our minds, and deepen our faith. As we do so we press on, we persevere, we run through the dark. And the Christian faith reminds us that we do not do this on our own but that we are held by God who carries us through.

Loving God, help me today to build habits that will strengthen me, deepen my faith and enable me to persevere through the challenges and the dark.

Amen