Dinner friday

Things look good for Friday's dinner.  We're looking at 25 to 30 folks, a real race director guest speaking, and plenty of pasta.

You want a good reason to come eat?  I got your reason right here.

 

1 Kings 19:5-8

Then [Elijah] lay down under the tree and fell asleep.  All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat."  He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water.  He ate and drank and then lay down again.  The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you."  So he got up and ate and drank.  Strengthened by that food, he traveled FORTY NIGHTS until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God."

 

This is the only place in the bible where an angel touches a person.  However, one of the translations of the word "touch" is "defeated".  Interesting.  There may not have been contact made, only the realization that the journey really is bigger than him.  That term can have a lot of spiritual baggage.  (In a different context I'd love to dig it out.  Maybe if you ask me I'll expound.)  After all, the first thing he said under that tree (verse 4) was "I'm finished" and that phrase can be read in a terminal sense. 

 

Come to think of it, when I called the missus from that medical tent last year the first thing I told her was "I'm finished". 

 

Ironic.

 

The next time I say that on Marathon Sunday (endurance Sunday as they call it at church) will be in front of George R. Brown.

 

His journey was longer than ours.  His task was greater.  But we all fight the same battles.  We all fight the same demons.  They just dress differently today than they did 6000 years ago.  Elijah told a crowd to "Get off the fence".  Follow path A or B, but quit waffling back and forth.  We got off the fence 6 months ago.  We're running Sunday. 

We're not going 40 nights, though.  We're just running up to 26.2 miles.  And we should be done in 6 hours, tops.  But if it's good enough for Elijah, it's good enough for me.

 

In 5 days time we power up.  We'll eat.  We'll rest.  We'll eat. Then we'll run.

 

And finish.

 

There is no try.  Only do.