My index finger doesn't hurt...

February 2009 Runners World magazine has an article containing advice from runners and readers. One man says that when he is running he concentrates on body parts that don't hurt. Another one says she dedicated each mile of her marathon and kept running so she wouldn't have to confess that she walked anyone's mile. What drives me? I don't mean running, although there are lots of things I do to keep myself putting one foot in front of the other. Why do we do the hard things, or even just the necessary things? What makes me get off the couch at 10:00 to pack lunches and clean the kitchen after being up since 5:00, getting kids out the door to school, off to work, volleyball practice, squeezing in a work out, fixing supper, making sure homework is done, clothes are clean, etc?
For me, there is nothing more important than taking care of my husband and my children. I want their lives to be as easy as possible. I would suffer pain, every heartache for them, because I hurt with them. There isn't anything I wouldn't give up for them, won't sacrifice for them. But they don't grow if I remove the obstacles. Obviously, the broken heart from the relationship that didn't work out is beyond my control. The sickness, I can treat, and hope for a little relief for them until they are well, but I can't take it out of their body into mine. I realized this week, that my daughter learned a lesson being sick. She's 7th grade. Always before when she's been sick, she just wants to stay home. But this time, even though she really was sick, she begged to go to school. She knows that she was missing out. She knows she will have to make up homework. She learned that sometimes it's better to tough it out. And that she is strong enough to do so.
So I'm back to the title of my blog, what drives me? The knowledge that "I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST BECAUSE HE GIVES ME STRENGTH". Phillipians 4:13. This may be running the 10th mile, or it may be just getting out of bed in the morning.