THEY SAY ITS A MARATHON, I SAY ITS A RELAY!

So, here we are again, talking about life. Many people agree that we are in a race. A great visionary once said that everyone who runs in a race, they run so that they can win. But hold on just one minute...Have you ever stopped to ask yourself for a moment...what race Am I running?

Some people say that the race of life is like a marathon-long, drawn out, tedious, sweaty, yet totally rewarding in the end. Would you agree? Well, in the context of discipline and hard work, I would definitely agree. Yet, you have to notice one thing about a marathon: It is run on this mantra, "Everyone for himself, God for us all...and the devil take the hindmost!"

 Let me explain: The focus on marathons are never directly rooted in teamwork. Save from few professionals in Kenya and Ethiopia who use such methods as pace-setters. For the most part, individuals run as individuals, and medals are rewarded to individuals, not teams.

In stark contrast, the relay race is molded strongly around a team. Every member of the team has a part to play. You have strong starters, then you have strong finishers. At the end of the day, it is the whole team that is feted, not the individual who crossed the finish line first. I love this kind of a race. 

A very curious thing here though...the team that wins the race must show the baton at the finish line. In other words, if you cross the finish line first and you do not have the baton, you will not win. In real life, we get this baton for the race from our predecessors...our parents, or the generation before us.

In the adventurous race of life, we all ought to run the relay race. In other words, someone already started the race...at one point in time we are warming up at our positions eagerly awaiting for the baton to be passed to us...so we can run ours.

 

The most unfortunate thing in life however is that many people are running individual marathons instead of a relay race. Can we blame them? I don't know. Yet I will say this: that for the next generation to make it in life, someone must oversee that intricate process of passing on the baton to them. In a real race, it takes split seconds for that changeover to take place. In real life, it takes half a life-time.

My question today is this: Are you running a marathon or are you running a relay? Would you please join a relay race? Another important question is this: For your next generation, will they be running a marathon or a relay race? That my friend, is totally dependent upon your choice! SELAH