Do the Hard Work

“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” Proverbs 14:23 NIV

As a longtime race director, I love hearing stories about the people who run in our events— especially if they’ve had to overcome extreme obstacles to do so. Which is the very reason I was moved to tears after reading Jess Hicklin’s recap of her son’s epic 100 mile finish at our Bad Dawg event on Sunday.

 “Bryan and I had a crazy/inspiring weekend with our 22 year old son, Kaden Hicklin, and we have to share his story…He ran in a 100 mile ultramarathon race in Waynesville, MO with the Bad Dawg Ultra organization on Saturday….only 14 runners in this particular category…only 2 finished the race and our sweet boy was one of them. Kaden started running at 6am Saturday morning…ran hours in the blazing Sun with high humidity and temps in the 90’s…after every 10-mile loop (he would take short breaks with us to refuel and get back rubs)…we then had to watch him run off into the total darkness on these rural country roads after the sun went down…with no sleep at all…then crossed the finish line 29 hours later Sunday morning at 11am (with one hour to spare). The mental strength this kid has…especially after Doctor’s and chiropractors have told him most of his life that running would NOT be his sport due to his feet/ankle design…and we always worried about his pectus carinatum (chest malformation) constricting his heart/lungs during heavy breathing when he played sports….not to mention the open heart surgery he had 3 years ago to remove a benign cyst that was growing inside of his right atrium… he did it anyway. Just another example of how following your dreams/goals REGARDLESS of what someone else thinks or what they say you should/could do… you can achieve it.” 

He did it anyway? Do you just love that or what? This young man, despite the obstacles in his way, chose the road of “hard work” to achieve a dream he was told would be impossible. And he chose to keep moving for 29 hours despite the pain, the fatigue, the nausea, the darkness, and all the other things associated with finishing a 100 mile race (and I speak from experience). 

And, you know, this is the attitude that every follower of Christ would do well to adopt. You see, God has a unique purpose and plan for each of his children… a purpose and plan that others might tell you is impossible (I speak from experience on that one too). But with God, you can be sure that all things are possible and every dream He places on our hearts achievable… if we are willing to put in the “hard work” it takes to obtain the profit or valuable return that is. You see, many people, when faced with obstacles, will talk about all reasons they CAN’T do something which will only lead to a state of mediocrity. But when we trust God and work hard, we can be assured that we CAN (by His strength) do whatever it is He is calling us to do (regardless of what we’ve been told). Which means that when we encounter problems, we must look to God, pray, trust, and then do the “hard work.”

So whatever it is God is calling you to do, be willing to put in the hard work my friend. And then continue to put in the hard work day after day, week after week, and even year after year if necessary—remembering that God works in His time and in His way. Results don’t always come overnight for reasons we might never understand, but they will come in due time if we refuse to give up. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for the reminder that we can achieve any dream or goal you have placed on our hearts to do if we will stay focused on You. Lord, help us to be found faithful in working toward those goals no matter what opposition we might face so that our faith, our character, and our endurance would grow and you would get all the glory. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!