Run The Temple Race With Endurance
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When I was in high school everyone played this iPhone game Temple Run. You played as this Indian Jones-type guy running out of a temple away from these giant gorillas with an artifact you just took from the temple. The point of the game was to run away from the gorillas by successfully navigating the path ahead of you. You had to quickly decide to turn left or right, jump over logs, slide under burning arches, and not fall off the edge at a turn. The difficult part of the game was that you could only see ahead of you so far because of fog, and if you died you had to start completely over.
With no end in sight and no next level to achieve, we all found ourselves addicted to a game we could score high in, but never win.
Our obsession with the game faded and we all found newer ones to play. But out of all the iPhone games I wasted my time with, I never imagined was that Temple Run could prepare me for when life feels uncertain.
Life is so crazy right now, and it seems to get crazier every day. As I’m sprinting to a finish line I can’t find, some decisions feel easy. Check on family and friends, maintain as normal of a routine as I can, attend church online (1,000 bonus points for still attending church during a world-wide crisis!!). And I know without a doubt that these are the right turns to make.
But even with these right decisions, with self-care, with creating time for fun, with being a part of a church community, I still feel like I am running as fast as I can. Unable to see ahead because of the fog. I continue running and hoping there is an end in sight, but instead I keep sliding under fire arches and dodging branches. I keep hoping the next quick turn I make is the right one and I won’t fall or lose points.
The great thing about Temple Run though was that it was a game. I could stop playing it whenever I wanted. No really I could. I could stop, I promise.
But this past few weeks (its only been weeks…right?) of running has been nonstop, some days easier than others, but still a nonstop run. Sometimes it is hard to find the motivation to keep running. There are no giant gorillas chasing you in real life to keep you moving. Even if it may feel like it right now.
As a Christian I have always been told to “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,” (Hebrews 12:1-2) and believe me I try my best. But even when the fog is thick I try to remind myself that Jesus is there helping me make the right turns. And I know that I am not the only one struggling tight now. We all are trying to run on the right path and avoid making the wrong turns.
If you have any hacks I would love to know them. But until then, I guess I will just keep running, keep praying, and keep hoping that the next turn I make is the right one. I know there is no way I would be running right now without the trust I have in Jesus. I hope you have that trust, too.
Maybe next time I will dodge something fast enough and beat my new high score. And who knows, maybe if you run long enough there really will be an end in sight.
Associate Pastor at
Generations of Grace in
Lebanon, TN
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