Every Journey Starts With A Single Step
Read: Matthew 14:31-32
I watched my son, David, race in a triathlon in August of 2004 and decided then to try it myself the next year. For fun. Because watching a triathlon is really boring. Almost as boring as watching sailboat races.
Well, one thing led to another, and since then I have raced in 107 swimming, biking, and running events covering 2,813 miles. No wonder I’m tired! I've raced in China, Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.A., including four age group world championship events. Frankly, this surprises the heck out of me because I had no idea when I started where my athletic journey would lead. I was blessed to find friends, family, and coaches who created a great culture of support for the hard work that training requires, and the results have been terrific.
It probably should be no surprise, then, that my faith journey has had much in common with all that. I was a long-lapsed Episcopalian in 1983 when I followed along as Joan started attending GPUMC. I wasn't even a member when Jack Giguere recruited me to co-chair the annual stewardship campaign. But, surrounded by the caring culture of our church family, I have come a long way - committee work, Sunday school teaching, 11 mission trips to Kentucky, Louisiana, and Haiti, and pledges that have grown steadily through the years. Thirty years ago I never would have guessed that Christ would so fill my life.
So, I am sure there are people who have experienced an epiphany of faith – a single defining moment in which they found faith and were compelled to serve Christ. If they were athletes they would be sprinters! But my guess is that most of the rest of us have it the other way around. We are endurance runners. We accept a single call to serve, and that service inches us further in our faith. One call leads to another until faith and service are so intertwined we eventually can't imagine one without the other, and together they propel our beliefs and our behaviors forward. In time we are amazed at how far they have taken us.
There is a place about 20 miles into the Free Press Marathon where you are running around the southwest end of Belle Isle. Everything hurts, and there are still six miles to go. When I reach that moment I don't find much motivation in thinking about the finish. Instead I look far down the Detroit River to look at the Ambassador Bridge. It's a long way away, yet I recall running over it just a few hours before. Knowing how far I have come reassures me that every step I take, no matter how small or slow, is taking me where I want to go. You could call that faith.
Bob Rossbach
Read: Matthew 14:31-32
I watched my son, David, race in a triathlon in August of 2004 and decided then to try it myself the next year. For fun. Because watching a triathlon is really boring. Almost as boring as watching sailboat races.
Well, one thing led to another, and since then I have raced in 107 swimming, biking, and running events covering 2,813 miles. No wonder I’m tired! I've raced in China, Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.A., including four age group world championship events. Frankly, this surprises the heck out of me because I had no idea when I started where my athletic journey would lead. I was blessed to find friends, family, and coaches who created a great culture of support for the hard work that training requires, and the results have been terrific.
It probably should be no surprise, then, that my faith journey has had much in common with all that. I was a long-lapsed Episcopalian in 1983 when I followed along as Joan started attending GPUMC. I wasn't even a member when Jack Giguere recruited me to co-chair the annual stewardship campaign. But, surrounded by the caring culture of our church family, I have come a long way - committee work, Sunday school teaching, 11 mission trips to Kentucky, Louisiana, and Haiti, and pledges that have grown steadily through the years. Thirty years ago I never would have guessed that Christ would so fill my life.
So, I am sure there are people who have experienced an epiphany of faith – a single defining moment in which they found faith and were compelled to serve Christ. If they were athletes they would be sprinters! But my guess is that most of the rest of us have it the other way around. We are endurance runners. We accept a single call to serve, and that service inches us further in our faith. One call leads to another until faith and service are so intertwined we eventually can't imagine one without the other, and together they propel our beliefs and our behaviors forward. In time we are amazed at how far they have taken us.
There is a place about 20 miles into the Free Press Marathon where you are running around the southwest end of Belle Isle. Everything hurts, and there are still six miles to go. When I reach that moment I don't find much motivation in thinking about the finish. Instead I look far down the Detroit River to look at the Ambassador Bridge. It's a long way away, yet I recall running over it just a few hours before. Knowing how far I have come reassures me that every step I take, no matter how small or slow, is taking me where I want to go. You could call that faith.
Bob Rossbach
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