The Ultimate Running Partner

Recently, I experienced my final race for the Davis High Track Team at the Region Championships. This has been my first and last year competing on the Davis track team. I managed to fight at every meet in order to achieve a personal record at every race. I have never felt so much pain...and so much joy. That probably doesn't sound appealing...training for pain. But I not only trained for pain, but for the greatest reward: believing in myself to become stronger regardless of pain. While I was able to reach my goal and become stronger at each race, I have my Heavenly Father to thank. I have found that throughout every race, I had my Savior by my side with my Heavenly Father cheering me on. 

In the Book of Mormon in Alma 26:12 it says, "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things..." I know that, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phillipians 4:13). I want to share with you the power of prayer. At every meet before almost every race, my teammates and I would gather around in a circle and pray to our Heavenly Father for strength in our race. I would get super nervous before my races because I desired to continually prove to myself that I can reach my goal to become stronger at each race. I know that through my hard work and faith, I can accomplish difficult things. As I approached the starting line, my heart would jump the gun and race before I even began. I would say a prayer to myself in the line before my race to not only have the physical strength, but the mental strength to endure this 1600m or 800m race. Through every prayer, I felt such a peace and strength that I could reach my goal. As to MY strength, I am weak but in His strength, I can do ALL things. At the Region Championship I managed to gain a personal record (PR) of 5:37 in the mile after entering the season with a time of 6:22. I managed to gain a PR of 2:30 in the 800 after entering the season with a time of 2:48. Not only do I want to thank my incredible coach who has encouraged me and taught me to become stronger, but I want to thank my Heavenly Father for providing me peace and helping me to develop faith in myself.

 I have been able to grow closer to my Heavenly Father through relying on Him to comfort me and strengthen me in times of trial, fear, and pain. I have realized that as we have times of trial, those are the times where we need to be humble and recognize that our Heavenly Father is there watching over us. I have related racing to life, and more specifically, racing the mile. In the mile, during the first lap my 400 split time is crucial. When I met my first lap split, then for the rest of the race I would have have the endurance and the strength to maintain my pace and reach my ending goal. During the 2nd and 3rd laps, I would pick up my pace, look to pass other runners, and endure the pain of every step. My final lap is my favorite lap where I forget about the pain and fight to finish the race! Throughout my races, I have my coach, my family, and my teammates cheering for me and helping me endure this difficult race. I can relate my races to trials. I have prepared myself for this race through hours of workouts and miles of distance runs. I relate this to preparing myself for enduring trials as I build my foundation of faith on Jesus Christ and His gospel. As I am faced with a trial, I have my Savior by my side and my Heavenly Father cheering me on. I have prepared for overcoming this trial from developing a relationship with my Heavenly Father and strengthening my faith and testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ. While during the first lap of my trial, I will achieve my 400 split by remembering that I am a Child of God and He is watching over me. I will endure the 2nd and 3rd laps of my trial as I not only acknowledge my Heavenly Father and peers cheering me on, but also cheer on my teammates through their race. Finally, I will race my final lap through the strength of my Savior and overcome my trial and fight to the end.
I want to share with you how much I know that our Savior is racing by our side and that our Heavenly Father and family is there cheering us on. I have been able to communicate with my Heavenly Father through prayer before my races to help me perform my very best. I can communicate with my Heavenly Father through prayer throughout every trial I face. I know that as we approach trials and as we are enduring pain in our individual races, our Savior is by our side and our Heavenly Father is there cheering us on. I know that as we overcome our trials, that finish line is the greatest achievement we will ever experience.

Scatter sunshine by cheering and supporting others through their trials and remind them that they have a Heavenly Father waiting for their call so that He can help them through their races of life.