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Running the Race


I have fought the good fight, 
I have finished the race, 
I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7

The apostle Paul certainly had accomplished a great deal and overcome many obstacles in his work for Christ. In addition to establishing churches, writing 13 books of the New Testament, being ship-wrecked, stoned, and debating the establishment in Jerusalem, he was finally placed under house arrest. He journeyed to Rome to stand trial and later Nero condemned Paul to death by decapitation. He truly, fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith.

In his own way Chris Nikic did the same thing. As a Special Olympics athlete, he crossed the finish line of the Ironman competition on Saturday, November 7.  He become the first person with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman triathlon. He achieved this after he finished a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-marathon run at the Ironman Florida competition in Panama City Beach. Nikic crossed the finish line in 16 hours 46 minutes nine seconds, beating the course cut-off time by 14 minutes.

On his Instagram post he said, "YES, I did the work but I had angels helping me. God surrounded me with Angels. I will be thanking so many more people over the coming days. But I must start with the 3 Angels who trained with me and did the race with me. Dan, Jenn and Carlos."

For me, Paul and Chris serve as inspirations to run whatever race I feel I need to endure. Each in their own way are outstanding examples of keeping the faith while we endure trials of our own. 

It is God's everlasting love that, as Chris said, "surrounded me with angels. That same everlasting love surrounds each of us until we finish the race set before us. 

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