DOES THE FINISHING LINE ENERGIZE OR PARALYZE YOU?

Picture a situation where it suddenly seems that you cannot go on anymore, although you can almost see the end in sight. Let us call those situations races, for in actual fact, every individual is involved in a race. Today, I encountered one of those races during my swimming class.

The class instructor wanted everyone to swim the length of the pool with the front crawl stroke. I took off with a nice push and transitioned to the full stroke. As the wall of the pool came into sight, it felt like I had exhausted all my energy. Worse still, I felt like stopping, since I could not go on anymore. Then, it dawned on me that despite the fact that I could see the finishing line, I was paralyzed. Paralyzed by what exactly? Perhaps, apprehension of drowning, doubts in my abilities, and worry that I may not reach my goal. Petty things you may be saying. However, this is what confronts every runner in a race, albeit not the drowning part, nonetheless, the principle remains.

Scrutinizing my swimming experience isn’t it interesting to note that I was motivated in the deep end! Could it be that there were less obstacles swimming in the deep than in the shallow? I do not think so. The deep actually poses a greater struggle than the shallow for there I can drown. In the shallow end, the depth did not bother me; it was imminent defeat that elicited concern. I was paralyzed instead of energized by the finishing line.

Dissecting the crux of the matter, one may want to start with what the finishing line represents. It is the evidence that hard work has paid off, the prize received for a personal victory, and evidence that you triumphed against all odds. Sounds like quite a lot to give up for a moment of temporary, undue anxiety. Sometimes, we tend to forget that before we saw the finishing line in sight, we had contended with weightier things. With arms literally locked in combat, we huffed and puffed and prevailed. Yet, the finishing line approached and our determination transitioned to apprehension.

While swimming, the finishing line was the other end of the pool, but it can be anything that you are racing for. Some are in a sprint race, while others are in an ongoing marathon. Whatever the case may be, see the finishing line for all that is. Do not give up some few meters away from the finishing line for not every race can be re-run. Run the race that is set before you with endurance (Hebrews 12:1), while keeping your eyes set on the prize.