In 2008, my husband began running. I was proud of him. I, on the other hand, had zero interest in joining him for his early morning runs. I had never been a runner, so why would I start now? Anytime I tried running even just a few feet, I was always winded. Running was hard, and I had a fear of doing hard things.

After months of Jeff begging me to join him on a run, I finally agreed to the task. We purchased a brand new pair of running shoes, went to Target and purchased some workout clothes, and stood on our driveway.

“You ready for this, Tara?” “I guess so.”

We trotted down the driveway and past our neighbor’s house, and within about 4 houses past ours, I began walking.

“I can’t run. I can’t do this. I’m just not built to be a runner. This is too hard,” I huffed to Jeff.

Jeff grabbed me by the shoulders, looked at me in the eyes, and said, “You can do this. You can do hard things.”

Many months later, and many early mornings later, I had worked myself up to my first 5k. After that, I signed up for a 10k. After that, I signed up for a 10 miler. After that, I signed up for a ½ marathon. After that, I took on triathlons and worked myself up to Olympic Triathlons.

Pushing my body was less about achieving something and more about overcoming one of my basic fears that I couldn’t do hard things. But I learned that I could, and I could not only overcome them, but I could take them head-on.

Good Shepherd Church has been a community of perseverance through “hard things.” I believe grit and resilience is a testimony of strength. We are stronger. Braver. Brighter. 

As a church, we continue to run the race as the Apostle Paul writes, 

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)

We are on a journey, tilting our lives towards the way and life of Jesus. This year, as we look ahead to our Annual Meeting on May 5th, I am excited to reflect on our first year together – a year of running the race. I’m excited to look forward to the race God has for us. We will celebrate the many “hard things” we have been able to do in the power of the Spirit, and we will look forward with expectation and hope for the future.

I love you, Good Shepherd.

From my heart,

Pastor Tara Beth