Last spring, my daughter decided to try track and field. In our city, there’s a large community program where the kids participate in all kinds of events, competing alongside others in their age group in a not-too-competitive way. They get ribbons for each event, up to 6th place. No kid is left behind, and they all learn so much. It’s pretty great.

So my girl signs up, and we all go to her first track meet. She’s doing the baseball throw. She’s doing hurdles! And then, they call her name to run the 800-meter. If you, like me, don’t speak sports, the 800 is twice around a standard-size track. TWICE. Running! Maybe it’s the non-athlete in me, but that is a long run… and she was, at the time, a little 8-year-old second grader.

She stepped onto the track all smiles and took off. For a while, she held her own. And then, as she started her second lap, in the way that only a mom could see from across a set of bleachers, a football field, and a really long track, I saw her start to fade. First, her smile turned into more of a grimace. She tried to keep running, but then, clutching her side, she started to walk. As every other runner finished ahead of her, leaving her alone on that last lap, she began to cry… and so did I.

I felt so helpless watching her struggle. I couldn’t do a single thing to help her besides cheer my loudest, which was hard to do with tears on my cheeks and a lump in my throat. I turned to my husband and asked, “How are we supposed to watch this? I can’t bear it!”

And then.

I saw her coaches, who had been cheering her on from the middle of the track, beeline towards where she was limping along. Coming up beside her, they kept cheering, shouting her name, and telling her they believed in her! She could do it! She was gonna make it!

I saw her fellow second-grade teammates follow the coaches, pumping their fists and hollering, “You got this, girl! You can do it, I believe in you!” and running right alongside her. They layered themselves inside the track, and then more kids from other teams joined them, yelling encouragement and waving and making sure she kept going.

I saw my girl keep pushing along that track. I saw her spirit buoyed and her heart bolstered. I saw her start to laugh through her tears. I saw her press on.

And then she crossed that finish line with such joy and pride. Her teammates swooped around her, jumping up and down, and her coaches clapped, and her mom just kept crying in the stands, because there were so many lessons happening in real-time and it was just too much:

• We are never alone.
• We are never truly left behind to endure by ourselves.
• There will always be someone one step ahead of us; even if we want to be where they already are, we need to run our own race as they pave the way.
• Encouragement is indeed a superpower.
• We can feel big feelings and let them propel us to action.
• We are capable of more than we know.
• Girlfriends really are just the best!

I mean. Take your pick of the lessons that were on display during that moment, and most of them go back to the glory of cheering someone across the finish line.

Throughout our lives — and throughout the Bible — we see story after story of the power of simply showing up for someone. Friendship, support, and encouragement can truly change everything.

Elizabeth cheered on her young, pregnant cousin Mary, and together they carried babies who would change history. Ruth clung to Naomi when they had no one else, making the road ahead less frightening and opening the door to a new future. Jesus chose misfits and outcasts for His inner circle, and changed their lives in countless ways with just an invitation to follow Him.

We see verse after verse about friendship, encouragement, and how to love one another well:

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:13 NIV

“Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!”
Hebrews 13:1-2 NLT

“Friends love through all kinds of weather...”
Proverbs 17:17 MSG

Look. I know we all have our moments. We all have our opinions. And right now, there’s a solid sense of us versus them in the world. But we are created to help. To run beside someone having a hard time. To cheer from wherever we stand. To encourage others when they feel most depleted, offering our strength for the taking.

There are so many ways to be there for one another.

Who can you run alongside and cheer on to the finish line? What goal do you need to keep chasing? Is there something you’re enduring through gritted teeth? How can you empower someone coming up behind you in age or stage?

PS: My daughter decided to do track again this year — and has not yet run the 800 again. Also, in case you were wondering, you bet we went out for ice cream to celebrate after that track meet.

 

Listen to Anna’s devotion below or wherever you stream podcasts. Just search “(in)courage”!

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