March Madness Marathon > Running the Right Race

March Madness always marked a great time around the Meals household growing up! Besides the fact we loved basketball…Go K-State Wildcats!…it was the start of college baseball season…GO CATS!…Spring Break, generally warmer temperatures, lawn mowing season, and my twin brother and I’s Birthday!

As I approach another life milestone the analogy of a marathon has come quickly to mind. Living is a marathon, dotted with moments of triumph and struggle. I ran cross country in Middle School and High School. Never can say I was that good, but I respected the struggle! Watching Annelle prepare for her marathon a couple years back was inspiring. The commitment and dedication required seemed insane. At the Nebraska State Fair grounds she completed her longest run.

We have to pause and ask ourselves within our own lives:

What race are we running?

Who are we running this race for?

The answers to those questions are crucial. Are we “sprinting” through life at a pace set to please society and outside forces? Or are we setting a sustainable pace that will allow us to last through the years and emerge as a shaping force in our schools and communities? Sprinkled throughout this month will be posts that will call us in choosing the right race by living out marathon, perennial perspectives that some will frankly think is nothing short of “Madness”…and honestly what better time to have such conversations than this month!!

Currently, I am in the midst of my own longest run. Not physically, as my wife had completed, but in my writing. My goal for this month is to hit 100 blog posts before my birthday. It’s funny to think how many that is, but I’ll be even more excited when I hit 500 or 10,000! Writing is my marathon, it stretches my thinking over the contours of rugged connections. It draws me into seeing the value/lessons within the small, everyday moments of life.

Writing is a journey not a destination…no matter the milestones we hit on our journey…it continues and lays ever before us. I pray and hope the insights shared add some value to our own life missions; I’m blessed and honored to be on this journey with you! Never stop growing and always keep learning!

Writer’s Note: This month our #CompelledTribe’s blog post theme is focusing on our growth and goals! Several of my upcoming posts are dedicated to that theme through this short March Madness series. Each post will be specifically tagged as the 2019 March Madness Series. Have a wonderfully blessed month of March!