"Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers." - VoltairE

"A Marathon Not a Sprint"

Posted by Anne Witton on Wednesday, September 15, 2021 Under: Reflections


This is something I wrote when reflecting on Abby’s health and that of other friends with chronic pain.

Whenever we face some enduring difficulty, someone will invariably say “It’s a marathon not a sprint.” But actually it’s not a marathon either. A marathon is a set number of miles that you know from the beginning. It’s a long way, but it is finite. In a marathon you can pace yourself. In a marathon you know that if things get tough around 22 miles, you’ve got 4 miles to go and then the pain will cease.

Chronic pain doesn’t work like that. It’s so hard to pace yourself because you don’t know when the end will be - Weeks? Months? Never?

You can’t log your progress on Strava. There’s nothing to brag about on Facebook. It doesn’t make for a brilliant photo opportunity for your friends to ‘like’. You don’t even win medals.

To all my friends who are heroically battling chronic and debilitating pain - your battles aren’t in vain. You are known and loved by the One who has suffered more than any of us can imagine. One day there will be healing and restoration that can never be taken away.

In : Reflections 

Next post: Prayer Walks
Previous post: Top Christian...

Tags: pain perseverance 
« Back to posts

Tags

"loving god' commandment relationship 40th activity acts addiction adoption adultery advent aesop agapé android animation anxiety apologetics app apps argument aroma atheism audio bear ben folds bible bible characters bible narrative bible study bible trading cards big picture birthday blog body of christ book book review books busyness cat celebration celibacy celtic change charity chart child children christ christendom christmas chronicles church church history climate change coastguard colouring comedy commentary communications communion community compassion conference consumerism contemplation context conversation coronavirus covenant covid-19 creation creation care creativity cross crucifixtion cryptic culture cwtch daily prayer data day of the lord death debate devotional diagram dictionary digital disagreement disciples discipleship discipline discussion documentary easter ecclesiastes economics education effort elder brother emotion encouragement enemies environment environmentalism ethics evangelism event evidence ezekiel fable facebook fact check fair trade faith faitheism fake news father fear feast feeling fellowship feminism fiction film fireseeds flesh flourishing food foodbank forgiveness free freedom freshers fun fundraiser funny galatians game gay gay wedding genealogies generosity gifts giving god god's presence good good news gospel gospreflection grace gratitude great commission green growth guitar hagar healing health heart heaven hebrews history hoarding holy biscuit holy spirit home homosexuality honesty hope hopelessness hospitality house hub humanism humour hymn identity in individualism infographic infographics inheritance insurance internet interview interviews intimacy ios jesus joel joke jonah joseph joy justice kindness kingdom kingdom of god lament law leaflet lectio divina legacy lennox lesbian levite lgbtq liberty library literal literature liturgy living out lockdown lord’s love lust magazine map mark mark's materialism matthew maturity meal meditation meditations memory mental health ministry mission missionaries moody moral morality move murray music names of god nation new creation new year newcomers news non-fiction north east obsession old testament online outreach pain palm sunday parable passover patience peace pentecost persecution perseverance perspective philosophy photo photography piano picture this thought podcast poem poetry political correctness pool night possessions post-christendom poverty power praise prayer prayer requests prayer walk preaching presentation presents priest princess anne priorities prodigal son productivity project prophecy protection provision psalm publicity puzzle questions quiz quotes reading rebellion reconciliation redemption reference reflection relationship relationships relativism religion remembrance repentance rescue resource resources rest restoration resurrection retreat review reviews riches right and wrong royalty rules rush sabbath sacrifice same-sex attraction sarah scholarship science screens scripture scripture engagement secularism seed self esteem selfishness sermon sermon on the mount sex sexuality shalom sharing faith shopping showcase significance silence simplicity sin slavery smell social social action social media society software solitude song songs sonship soularium sources speaking spiritual gifts spirituality sproul spurgeon stations of the cross stats stewardship stone story stott student student life students study suffering supper support support discovery talk tech technology temple tft thank you thanksgiving theology time toby tools top trumps trading cards training transformation translation treasure treasure hunt trivia true freedom trust truth unity update utilities value video vine visual waiting waiting for god walk war wealth website websites wesley witnessing women words world worldview worry worship worth writing wrong wycliffe youtube ywam

©  Anne Witton 2023          Contact | Newsletter                            

Living Out is registered UK Charity no. 1165572 | The Baptist Union is Charity no. 249635