(Note from Linda: Karla has a beautiful and powerful Restored Marriage Testimony, so we all appreciate her perspective and insight, and are truly blessed when she shares it with the FAM members. And the following post was no exception! So be blessed and encouraged and never forget that with God ALL THINGS are indeed possible and that God is running this race of marriage restoration right along with you and He has ALREADY declared and promised your victory!)

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I have run quite a few marathons, and it is probably one of my greatest personal achievements. But it is not easy to run 26.2 miles, and it is not all that fun. And it definitely requires a lot of strength – both physical and mental, as well as endurance. However, it is worth every ounce of pain. It is worth all of the sweat, all the tears, all the time put into preparing, and all of the injuries and the hurts endured along the way. There is nothing in the world like finishing that race, reaching the goal, and crossing that finish line. And as crazy as it might sound; I have discovered that standing for marriage restoration is a lot like running a marathon.

When we decide to run a marathon, nothing can stop us. And when God puts it on our hearts to stand for our marriage, nothing can stop us. When we tell people that we are going to run a marathon, most tell us that we are nuts, that it is not worth it, and that we will never finish. And when we tell people that we are going to stand for our marriage, most will tell us that we are nuts, that it is not worth it, and that we will never be able to do it by ourselves…our spouse has “free will.” They tell us that we aren’t strong enough and we can’t overcome and endure, and they will be wrong.

When we truly decide to stand for our marriage, nothing can stop us. We are excited and hopeful. We are determined and we can see that proverbial finish line called restoration. And then the race begins. The first few miles whiz by; we are energized, and we have a great attitude as we run. We are truly grateful for every mile we pass, because we know that each mile is a victory in itself.

At about mile eight, we are really cruising along. We are praising God with each mile marker we pass. There are lots of people to cheer us on, water to quench our thirst, and medical staff standing by in case we get hurt. We are applying everything we have learned, and we remember everything we have been taught. We are prepared for the bumps in the road to come and we are ready!

Somewhere around mile eighteen, we start thinking about the finish line. We tell ourselves that nothing matters except crossing that finish line. We pass miles nineteen and twenty without even acknowledging them. We become very thirsty and need a drink, but we don’t stop because we just want to get to the finish; all that matters is the finish. Shortly after that, we realize that we are starting to hurt and have some pain. And we don’t like that because we don’t want to stop and deal with the wound because it will keep us from getting to the finish line. So we pass the emergency medical staff and press on. And before we know it, we are bleeding, but we tell ourselves we are fine. We rationalize that we know what we are doing, we know exactly how this is going to go, and we have all the answers and tools needed to finish the last few miles. We decide that despite all we have learned, that our way is better, and we don’t need anyone’s help.

Then we hit mile twenty-one, and we hit what marathoners call “the wall.” Some runners hit it sooner and some hit it later. When we hit the wall, the pain becomes excruciating, and with every step forward, we feel like we have been pushed two steps back. We start to grumble because we cannot see any drink stations or medical staff ahead, and the head games begin; we start telling ourselves that we will never make it. We hear voices telling us that the finish line is too far away, that we should just quit the race, and that we have run enough. We even start telling ourselves that getting to the finish line is impossible. But then, all of a sudden, we hear another voice; the sweetest voice we have ever heard. It says “With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” We feel a rush of adrenalin and we can literally feel the strength coming back into us. We head over to the drink station and medical staff, which were right in front of us the whole time; we just couldn’t see them yet and needed to have faith and go a little bit more.

After we have been filled with nutrients and have rested for just a bit, we get back on the course, and we remember that we must apply what we have learned and BELIEVE that we are going to cross that finish line. And because we have believed and persevered, we realize that miles twenty-three, twenty-four, and twenty-five have flown by and then we see mile marker twenty-six! And we know that mile marker twenty-six means we are so close; we are almost there! We just about can’t believe that we have made it, but we believe, and we rejoice. We know that the finish line is close even though we cannot see it because the last part of the course has lots of twists and turns. And we realize that in order to finish, we must go by faith and not by sight. So we run as hard as we can, with all the strength we have, and then we hear the cheering. We pick our heads up just in time and we see the finish line. We put our hands up in victory and praise God as we cross that divine marker! It is accomplished!

After we cross the finish line, we feel a rush of emotions; there is joy…there is relief…there is exhaustion. We cry, but we are smiling; our thoughts are all over the place, but we look up and thank God. And someone approaches us with a medal in hand. We are shaking from the race, but we bow our head and the metal is place around our neck and our victory is declared!

Fellow standers, standing for the restoration of your marriage is the race of your life, and the finish line is just ahead of you, but you must believe that it is. You have what it takes to run the race; you have all the tools you need to endure the pain, and you have someone running right beside you every step of the way, making your victory possible. That someone is God. And there is no one better to cross the finish line with. Just call out to Him (Jeremiah 33:3), and He will be there right beside you. As Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, …”With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” And when we stand no matter what, and cross the finish line, we will truly be blessed! Then, as Paul declared in 2 Timothy 4:7, we can say I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Love and Blessings,
Karla

Posted Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 2:10 pm in Seeds Of Faith.