Somebody has to be 11th:

I have mentioned many times recently that I am a cross country coach.  This past week for me, and my mother who is also a cross country coach, was our regional cross country meet and that means this is the meet where we find out who is going to go to the Iowa state cross country meet held on October 30th.  In order to qualify for the state meet at the regional cross country meet, there are two teams that have the least points or win first and second go, or the top ten individual runners go themselves.  It is hard to achieve.  A person has to work really hard.  Both my mom and I were blessed to have two individuals achieve this high honor and make it to the state meet.  I am so proud of all my runners, but I am especially excited for the two individuals who are going to the state meet.  

According to my title, I am talking about the individual who gets 11th place. This is the first individual who doesn’t make it to state.  This individual was close, dangerously close.  Close enough that you can see it in front of you, and yet you are not the one who gets it.  Many of the runners who were in this place ended up crying.  It is a devastatingly disappointing place to receive.  You worked hard, and now it feels as though it won’t matter because you are not going to be receiving the major award.  Then you can spend your whole time thinking that if you were just ten seconds faster, you would be going or if you just would have passed that one more person, you would be going.    

The point I am going to make here is that we have all most likely been in 11th place at some point in our lives.  I am not necessarily saying that you have been in 11th place in a cross country meet, but there has been a time where we have been close to achieving something, but then ended up falling short.  These could be the times that we have applied for a job, maybe even had a job interview and then ended up not getting it.  This could be the time that you were close to getting the reward or the prize, but then you received second or you were not the one that was drawn.  The point being that every single person has felt disappointment, some small ones and then some bigger ones.  

However, those are the times that we can understand what we need to do in order to achieve what we are working towards.  This is knowing what we want to achieve in the future and seeking to achieve it.   Many of the runners that received an 11th place in that regional meet were able to start thinking about how they can continually improve their time and the way they can compete in every race.  This is also something that can be done with the help of the Lord.  1 Peter 5:10 says, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”  The Lord knows that we will suffer, but once we have suffered, he wants us to be strengthened and established.  We can always continually be growing in any of our goals, and with the prayers to the Lord, we will develop.  

This is also a good reminder to be humble.  We all are going to have moments where we fall and where we fail.  We will have moments where we will just not measure up.   This is because we are not perfect, and we are definitely human.  That is why it is important to stay humble and to keep our belief in God.  The Lord is the only reason that a person receives success.  He is the one who has given us our talents and our opportunities.  It is not correct to feel as though we can do it on our own.  Our failures and the times that we fall can serve as our reminder that those opportunities only really do come from the Lord.  

Last, this is a good reminder that every person is a different person.  Every person is going to have different successes and failures.  Essentially, every person has a different path to success and has a different path in life.  You can not compare your path and the life lessons that you are learning to anyone else in this world.  You have your own path and your own walk.  The last reminder is that God has a plan for your life.  There will always be present pain.  There will always be present suffering and present rejection, but the Lord has worked through that and will continue to help you work through it. Romans 8:18 says, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”  The Lord has a great heart in you, and he has a belief that you will be exactly what you are supposed to be.  This is not meant to be the person that is right next to you, and this will have a different path than the person who lives next to you.   So when that person achieves the items that you want, it is good to keep a reminder that this may be their path, but it is not your path at the moment.  Not to say that you can never achieve this desire, (such as state cross country) but the Lord first wants you to learn something important first.   

The last verse that I want to highlight is Psalm 34:18 which says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”  It is alright to be crushed and to be disappointed.  I am not going to be the person who says that you need to act like everything is perfect and that you are not upset.  The Lord knows your true feelings, so you might as well be honest with him and with yourself, plus the trusted people who are around you.  Then the Lord will be with you.  The Lord will save those who are crushed in spirit.