Go for it sister!

Ever since I started running, one of the things I began doing was cheering on other runners I saw while I was out doing things, driving in my car, on the bus, etc. Regardless of how speedy or efficient they looked, whether male or female, young, old, skinny, fat, slow, fast, I took to waving and calling out "go for it brother/sister!" (depending on the gender of the runner, of course...)

Funny how habits stick with you. Years later, I'm still doing it, and now the tradition has passed on to my son, Jonah. At 4 and a half years old, he hollers out "go for it sister!" every time he sees a runner out doing their thing. (Still have to work on the gender appropriate cheer with him- even boys get the "go for it sister!"- hilarious!)

I love it. One of my fave scriptures is Hebrews 12:1-2:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. NKJV

That image of there being a huge crowd cheering each of us on as we pursue our faith with God always overwhelms me. I always visualized those voices calling out and urging me on, but now those voices have a human sound- Jonah in the back seat cheering on runners of every description and size as they go for it.

Thank God for kids. I know Jonah's cheers give me juice to push through my flabby cramps to make the distance, and the cheers from heaven still give me the push I need to keep going forward toward the prize.