The Treadmill of Life ~ Lisa Taylor

I have been thinking about how to share my testimony, my story, my heart.  It finally came to me as I was on my daily twenty-minute run.  I run for time, since I was told a twenty to thirty minute run would help me.  So, twenty minutes it is!  As I was half way into my run on my treadmill God spoke to my heart loud and clear and with full force.  He began to equate running on my treadmill to life and to Him.  

The treadmill I run on is an older model but it does the trick.  It has a front panel that tells the speed, calories, time, distance and pulse.  There are two side handles, I have to use a crank to change the speed . . . YEAH, I said older model, but it does the trick. 

​But if I really want a treat, I will go to my in-laws house next door and use their treadmill.  Now theirs is FANCY!  It has a front panel that includes all the features mine has plus I can choose to add an incline as well as a fan to blow on my face as I run.  It even has a screen to watch myself as a dot going around a track to see the distance I am covering. 

OH! and one special feature I LOVE about their treadmill is the safety clip that can be attached to oneself just in case one should trip over their own two feet and fall (not saying I have done that at all), and immediately the treadmill will stop.  That way nobody has to worry about falling off or getting shot out the back (we have all watched and laughed at those YouTube videos)!

As I continued to run, I saw the treadmill as a metaphor for life.  On our life journey we begin walking.  We walk we notice the fun things in life like the front panel of the treadmill.  The accomplishment of the distance we are walking.

Our first stop in life might be kindergarten graduation “Woo-Who!” Our next stop might be our eighth grade first kiss “How sweet!”  Another stop we make might be our first high school dance - going with my friends “Party Time!”  There are other fun things to check out on your walk of life such as watching the calories you burn to see that you are working hard and it is paying off.  You did it!  All A’s on the honor roll for you, and your parents are SO proud. 

Time stays constant.  Everyday you keep walking so your pulse stays steady.  But the speed of your walk of life begins to turn to a run as you walk longer and farther in your distance.  You graduate college, you have your dream job, you start a family, it seems like everything is coming together.  You get comfortable with walking faster.  You gain confidence in how the treadmill works.  You got this walk of life down. 

But at this speed and this distance, you begin to experience fatigue.  You have been walking for so long in life and now you are at a running pace.  Well it is a lot harder.  You begin to think, what if my shoe comes untied? What if the distance or the accomplishments aren’t good enough?  What if you don’t accomplish everything you need to?  Will you then not be as good as the next person?  What if you hit a plateau and you don’t burn any more calories, and you become stale in your work?  What if you lose your job or the trust of a friend?  You can’t stop but you are running out of control.  You want to just jump off.  You are done with this walk of life.  You just want to quit, it’s too hard.  You are tried, you are just done. 

But the sides of the treadmill hold you in, AND you have the SAFETY CLIP.  The safety clip is there to remind you that YOU ARE HELD on this walk of life.  You are held safely onto the treadmill of life. If you fall, the clip will stop the treadmill from overtaking you and it won’t let you fall off the treadmill.  You can fall down in life and then get your strength back to stand up on the treadmill and run again.  This time with trust, hope and faith that you can do it, you will do it because you are safely held onto the treadmill of life.  You don’t have to fear, you can fall, you can bend, but you won’t break.  You will rise with strength . . . GOD’S STRENGTH!
 
God is my strength . . . our strength.  God is my safety clip . . . our safety clip.  I can only run on this treadmill of life because I don’t put my trust in my accomplishments, the distance I go in this life, my hard work, the calories I see that change my life or my speed, or my confidence that I will always have tomorrow.  I put my trust, and my faith in Christ alone.  He died for me; He says he will be my strength when I am weak.  I don’t have to worry about finding strength from anywhere or from anything else.  He will supply it and I can say one hundred percent, no doubts, HE DOES! 

He walks with me and you on our walk.  He says He is right there with you and wants to help you navigate this treadmill of life. Isaiah 41:10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”   

When we let go and move toward Him, He embraces us and says I love you, I got this, rest, I will help and strengthen you.  If you haven’t let Him, I ask that you really think about it.  Pray about it or even talk it over with a Christian friend at WCA.  We love you and want you to know our friend Jesus who loves you and strengthens you with no limits.

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