Run with horses

"If you have raced with people on foot

and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble in safe country,
how will you manage in the thickets of the Jordan?"

~Jeremiah 12:5

Are you going to live cautiously or courageously? I called you to live at your best, to pursue righteousness, to sustain a drive toward excellence. It is easier, I know to relax in the embracing arms of The Average. Easier, but not better. Easier, but not more significant. Easier, but not more fulfilling. I called you to a life of purpose far beyond what you think yourself capable of living and promised you adequate strength to fulfill your destiny.

This is an excerpt from from a book that was sent to me yesterday. It spoke directly to what has been eating away at my heart. Some days it's really hard to read facebook posts and twitters of good food being eaten, new things purchased, new hairstyles, fun get togethers. Sometimes I wish I could just take a 15 minute trip to Target to find what I need instead of an hour or 2 days of chasing down what I need all over town. Sometimes I wish that I could go back to "safe country".

But when I think of "safe country", I realize more and more that I was never called to remain there. Even where I'm at now is relatively "safer" than other places. Places that call my heart and pull my soul towards them like magnets. They won't let go, as much as I resist and fight. I read this portion of writing and realize it is the truth. The Average is easier, but its not better. The Average is not better when there's a promise of fulfillment. A promise of grace and strength to fulfill a destiny.

My grandfather used to train and race horses. Thoroughbred horses that were strong and powerful, designed and created to do just that: race. They didn't race 24/7. They were trained, were conditioned, were fed, brushed, and looked after, so that when race day did come, they were ready. They were ready to do what they were destined to do. The race usually only lasted a couple of minutes, but when it was finished, whether they won or not, they had competed well. Then after the race, they were fed, brushed and looked after so that they could go do it again. Without the training, without the conditioning, these horses would not be able to make it even 5 seconds on the track, even though they were created with such strength and speed. And the track looks scary, it looks long, the other horses look scary, they look faster, and I would think it's a lot more comfortable in the stables, on the sidelines watching the other horses.

Jeremiah faced the same struggle and in the end his life shows he choose to run with the horses. So the same question is asked of me, "do I want to shuffle along with the crowd or run with the horses?"