Perseverance

I am not a runner. Some people truly have a passion for lacing up their sneakers and heading out to put feet to pavement—air in their lungs, the wind on their face, and endorphins coursing through their veins. That is just not me. I enjoy and am even capable of exercising in almost every other way, but I will never be a runner.

A few years ago, a friend convinced me to sign up to complete a 5K. My non-running heart had a bit of panic attack after finishing the registration because I knew there was no way that I was going to finish this thing. I knew that I could walk it, but I also knew that everyone else would be faster than me, and my competitive, prideful heart certainly didn’t want that. I wanted to persevere, but I couldn’t see a way forward.  Thankfully, I had a group of friends with me to encourage me in each step of the process. It was difficult to find perseverance on my own, but my community lifted me up. Many had gone before me.

It is not so different with our faith. Many have gone before us, and many will come after us. As humans on Earth, we can rely on our own “cloud of witnesses” to uplift us and sustain us when perseverance is hard to come by on our own.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FIELD