{"id":6568,"date":"2012-08-04T19:02:04","date_gmt":"2012-08-04T11:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.creativeyouthideas.com\/resources\/?p=6568"},"modified":"2012-08-05T00:54:12","modified_gmt":"2012-08-04T16:54:12","slug":"run-with-perseverance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.creativeyouthideas.com\/resources\/devotional\/run-with-perseverance\/","title":{"rendered":"Run with Perseverance"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us\u00a0throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let\u00a0us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” \u00a0<\/strong>
\nHebrews 12:1<\/p>\n

There is no better feeling in the world than the joy of winning a race you were\u00a0never expected to win!<\/p>\n

Just ask Jenny Spangler. She won the women’s marathon at the U.S. Olympic Trials\u00a0in February 1996, earning the right to compete at the Summer Olympic Games in\u00a0Atlanta.<\/p>\n

At the time of the trials, Spangler was qualifier number 61, which meant that 60\u00a0runners had entered the race with faster times than hers. No one had ever heard\u00a0of her – and no one thought she could maintain a winning pace when she passed\u00a0the leaders at the 16-mile mark.<\/p>\n

Spangler had few successes to her credit. She had set an American junior record\u00a0in the marathon during college, but then she left the sports scene after a\u00a0stress fracture dashed her hopes in the Olympic Trials of 1984. Abandoning the\u00a0sport after she ran poorly in 1988, she returned to school and earned a master’s\u00a0degree in business administration. She ran only two marathons between 1988 and\u00a01996.<\/p>\n

At the marathon trials, she was such an unknown that the second and third place\u00a0finishers asked each other, “Who is she?” after she took the lead and held on to\u00a0it.<\/p>\n

The favorites in February’s race expected Spangler to fade, but she never did.\u00a0Somewhere inside herself, she found the courage and stamina to finish strong.\u00a0Not only did she make the Olympic team, but she took home first prize – $45,000.<\/p>\n

Does the day ahead of you look as grueling as a marathon? Keep Jenny Spangler in\u00a0mind as you jog through your various commitments and responsibilities. Believe\u00a0you can get the job done. Run the race God has marked out before you. Keep\u00a0moving!<\/p>\n

You can end each day with the satisfaction of knowing you are that much closer\u00a0to the goal!<\/p>\n

This devotion is from “Breakfast with God.”<\/em><\/p>\n