Outside Looking In

Last Sunday I watched my first race. Really, it was the first time that I have been at a road race as a spectator. Having been at dozens of races as a participant, this felt strange.

But first, props to friends and all who ran--Jeff (no tortoise there), Michael, Paul, brave Hannah, Annie--you guys rock!

But the watching part felt weird. Part of me thought that I should be out there instead of on the side of the street. Part of me really wanted to be, yet the realist part of me knew that if I had been out there, I probably would not have finished and would have sidelined myself for months trying to recover from ignored injuries. The watching feelings were not necessarily bad, just very different.

Looking around at the other spectators I almost wished I could have seen thought bubbles to see how they read -- "Wish I was out there" or "Glad I am not out there" or "These people are nuts". People were watching (as opposed to running) for a variety of reasons. Everything from disinterest to inability of various forms. Yet we were all there cheering on people who have put in countless hours of training and energy over the past several months--as well as total strangers. Cheering for friends and family makes good sense. We know them. We love them. We have some idea of how important this is to them. But why cheer for total strangers?

I think that we could see the effort and we could applaud the effort involved, even though we may never see these people again. And I think that it makes a difference. Every now and then when someone knew they were being cheered for, you could see the glimmer of a smile or a nod of appreciation. It was a little boost for the next few steps. And perhaps it made a difference.

I wonder how many people could use that extra little boost for their faith journey. Maybe it isn't going along as they thought it would. It is taking more time or more effort than someone led them to believe--or than they expected themselves. Sometimes I think that it would be nice to see the thought bubbles. "I am doing fine, it just doesn't look like it right now" or "I think I want to quit" or "I don't want to give up, but i just need some help". Then we would know what to do. I believe that one big reason that we don't try to encourage or help people in their faith journey is that we don't know what they are thinking or where they are on the journey.

At the marathon it was easy. All of the spectators knew that the runners were trying to get to the finish line in St. Paul. We knew (or at least believed) that our encouragement would be beneficial. Yet we all knew that none of the runners was going to come over to the side of the road and ask us to carry them to St. Paul or to take their race number and finish the race for them. With faith journeys it seems a bit more daunting. We don't want to offend someone or feel uncomfortable ourselves.

Branded into my memory is a particular Sunday morning at our church when I was a kid in Indianapolis. I may have been in junior high or high school and I decided that I should make an effort to reach out to new people to try to make them feel more welcome. So I saw an older gentleman one Sunday in the commons area and thought, here goes. I said "Good morning. I haven't seen you here before, is this your first Sunday?" To which he replied, "No, I've been here every week for the past seven years." I cannot recall what came next, but it must have been something like, "Well, I'm glad to meet you", followed by a hasty exit. Was that man offended that a junior high kid hadn't known him? I doubt it. Was he encouraged that someone was trying to make the church a more welcoming place? I have no idea--I didn't stick around long enough to find out. From my current perspective as an "older" gentleman, I would guess that he was both amused and appreciative. If that happened to me next Sunday, I would be--mostly amused.

Point being, there is really no greater risk in cheering for strangers at the Twin Cities Marathon than there is in encouraging strangers (much less people we know) in their faith journey--other than in our own minds. Who knows, but it might give them the boost they need to take one more step on the journey.

As the Bible says, "Spur one another on to love and good deeds."

Consider yourself spurred.

Pressing On!
-Ken