Few people know this about me, but I absolutely LOVE Track and Field. I love to watch competitions both at track meets as well as on television. I am always happy when track season rolls around! I was having a conversation with a friend last weekend about track and field and as we were talking, a thought hit me: running track is a lot like our real lives. We are running a race in which it is imperative to keep our eyes on our own lane.
According to the rules of the Track and Field Division of the Olympics, an athlete can be disqualified for running outside of the assigned lane. Therefore, it is imperative that the athlete keep their eyes focused on the lane in which they have been assigned. See where this is going? Where our eyes go, our bodies can eventually follow. This means that we are tasked with two things: a) to run our race, and b) to do so while focusing primarily on our own lane (purpose) in which we have been assigned.
This does not come easy, especially with the media and societal standards constantly scream at us that we should be doing something other than what we are doing. That we should be focusing on something other than what we are focusing on. That we should run a race other than the one that we have been assigned to run by our Creator. And its totally human nature to look to see what others are doing to judge if we should speed up our process or if we can "coast" and bit and slow down. However, it isn't possible to be focused on the GOAL/FINISH line AND focused on the person running in the lane next to us. We have to choose one.
Another interesting thing about focusing on the "lanes" around us is that if we focus on someone else's lane when we have been tasked with running in our own, we may mistakenly cause them to fall or disrupt them running their race. We can do by veering into their lane. One person veering into another person's lane during a race can and will throw that other person off course. So, its important that we stay focused on our "lane" for ourselves as well as for the benefit of those around us!
I strongly believe that God is creative and wise enough to give us all very unique gifts, just like He gave us all very unique fingerprints. Think about it: there are millions of musicians all over the world, but they all have a unique sound and unique message to the world. I like artists such as PJ Morton, and Jill Scott, and India Arie to name a few. All soulful music, but different voices, different melodies, and different messages. Whatever your gift/talent is, you don't have to worry about what everyone else is doing in the "lane" in which they have been assigned to run. You have to focus on your own craft and honing in on your unique gift/talent that God has given you to share with others. This doesn't mean that you won't have any knowledge of those around you and what God has called them to do or how they are carrying it out. However, it does mean that you will be more focused on your own FINISH LINE that you won't dwell in a place of worrying about what's going on in the "lane" next to you.
Although this was a very practical example, I believe that we can apply it as we are pursuing our purpose so that we don't get so caught up in looking around us that we miss the GOAL that is placed in front of us.
"Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules." - 2 Timothy 2:5
