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The marathoner's glasses were fairly thick. His athleticism more than made up for any visual handicap.
He signed up for a race that was to ascend a mountain and take him through many small villages - some which had been abandoned for centuries. Additionally, there were actually different side roads and dangerous short-cuts to the skiing lodge at the end of the race. While it was within the rules, it was risky as some of these were rockier than smooth and crept along abrupt ledges.
Besides the challenges of the terrain, the weather factors made the race all the tougher. Some of the runners actually wore goggles to protect themselves from the swirling sand of the dirt roads caused by the winds up on the higher elevations. Those same breezes might bring unexpected clouds that could feel like a dense blanket of white-darkness. This could lead to zero-visibility.
But this was the region he was born into and this was the race before him.
The organizers of the race smartly handed out small clip-on red flashing lights so that the runners could stay with the pack in the case of poor visibility. They also assigned a team of six of the most experienced men and women to lead the race so that their lights would be near the crowded field to follow. Secretly, they also kept six to the rear of the race who would deliberately lose so they could keep their eye on those who placed last and risked getting separated from the pack.
As the bespectacled competitor was halfway through the race, he did not realize that his glasses were becoming layered with sand. Thinking that he was in a white-out of fog, he pressed on.
The road seemed steeper than he remembered. But one thing was for sure: the only red light that he could see blinking was his own…
(To be continued)
PORTAL TO HEAVEN: Times like this are teachable moments and can sometimes be the tougher portals. Have you ever been in a situation where both God and friends seem distant or you have even questioned their whereabouts? What does this say about our visual abilities?
Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever…And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Hebrews 12:2 (TM), Hebrews 10:25 (NLT),