It’s Not Always a Race

Growing Daily

It’s Not Always a Race

Years ago, my wife and I adopted a retired racing greyhound named Alex, though everyone just called him Al. He was five years old and super chill.

Most days, Al was perfectly content lounging on his bed or going for gentle walks. But one afternoon we took him to a wide-open field. We threw a ball, just to see what he'd do, and...

Oh. My. Goodness.

Al instantly transformed from canine to cruise missile.  We'd been told that greyhounds could reach top speeds of 40+ mph in just six strides.  Now we believed it.  We threw it again. Same thing.

We threw it a third time, and… nothing. Two spectacular bursts of speed, and Al was ready to call it a day.

Greyhounds are incredibly fast, but they're sprinters, not endurance runners.  Their need for downtime isn't a flaw. It's by design.

We may sometimes feel guilty when we're not constantly accomplishing something.  Even spiritually, we can confuse busyness with faithfulness.  Yet Jesus regularly stepped away from the crowds and encouraged His disciples to do the same: “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31).

There are times to run hard and give everything we've got.  And there are times to stop and recover.

Rest may feel like we’re stepping away from our purpose.  But sometimes rest is exactly what God uses to prepare us for it.


- Ron Reid