I've always had a slight intolerance for the most cliche marathon verse I know: "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." 

But today, 1 Cor 9:24 and I made amends.

I suffered through a 14-miler and was forced to cling to Anything it would take to finish. This verse circled and re-circled in my mind, beckoning me to pay attention in a new way.

It became clear and inescapable: "run in SUCH A WAY as to get the prize." 

While my eyes are continually focused on the goal, staring at the finish line, I am reminded that the Finish Line is not It. 

It's the way that matters. Run in such a way as to win the prize.

In the ways that the marathon parallels life, this is perhaps most visible. It's not about finishing, but the manner it takes to get there. For the marathon, it's training. For life, it's the joy, love, and grace with which we choose to live.

Lately, this has not been my heart. The word "gratitude" comes to mind... and how much I have lacked in it. I want to run the race in thankfulness - through the exhaustion, in the midst of disappointment, and straight into the questions. The manner you run the race matters; not the prize.

These runs are hard. Grad school is taking over. My job is time-consuming. But I will choose HIM - He will be my way. Only in Him can I bear any fruit, and I must turn my eyes and my heart to HIM alone to transform me as I run and "run" this race marked before me.