taking a look back

I started this journey back in January and as usually happens with my journaling, I haven't been very good about regularly posting. Oops!

Ok, so in January I signed up for the Hy-Vee Triathlon, something I've never really even thought I would do and let me tell you it's been a fun and crazy ride. I don't want to even count the number of hours I've spent training for this thing and now it's finally here. In 2 days I will race in what's quickly becoming one of the biggest triathlons in the country. Crazy!!!

The last couple weeks have been, well not exactly what I had hoped for. Around the beginning of June I started to feel a little lag in my training. I was getting tired and unmotivated to do the work I needed to do. June 14 I ran my first triathlon...a sprint tri which was basically half the distance of the Hy-Vee Tri. There were several things about racing that I had no idea what I was doing so it was really an experimental race. I survived, had a decent time, but more importantly figured out things that I needed to work on to be ready for this weekend. I was excited to get out and train hard for a couple days to work out the kinks in my race. Plans changed...

Tuesday of last week I was playing Ultimate Frisbee with friends from church. I went sprinting hard after the disc and felt this really sharp pain in the back of my leg. Crap! I just pulled my hamstring. Hamstring pulls can be pretty nasty so I was forced to take it easy for the last couple weeks and as a result I haven't had the chance to work on the things I wanted to work on. So going into this weekend I've been pretty stressed out thinking my entire race is going to be ruined.

Now hold on a minute...

I haven't been training for the last 5.5 months to have 1 not so hot week ruin it. I'm fine. I'm going to race, but I was letting one lousy week negate 5.5 months.

How often do we do that with our faith lives. I know I do. If I have a partiularly rough day where I'm struggling with things or I give in to a temptation I know I shouldn't, I tend to let the guilt of that one situation dwell on me for days. What I fail to do is look back at what God did 2,000 years ago on the cross and what He has offered to me freely since my salvation...GRACE!!