The Goodbye/Hello Girl

Ahhh, made it! There it is at last jumping up and down and waving its welcoming arms at me like a long lost friend – 2009. The air is fresher here, the sun is warmer and the world is so much brighter. Now, if I could only stand up straight, take my hands off my knees, clear my eyes and get enough air in my lungs to start enjoying it.

I feel like I have just run a marathon – a really long marathon. I am not insane enough, errr, physically driven enough to voluntarily enter a marathon. All those weeks, months, years of training and preparing for it, not to mention the actual running of the thing – just thinking about it now is making my Achilles’ tendons ache.

The best thing I can see about running a marathon is the finish line. There are people cheering you and congratulating you for finishing – no matter how long it took you to cross that line. All that hard work over the past year has paid off, you have done something not everyone has done or can do – and you have the souvenir t-shirt to prove it.

Of course, I would imagine that at the very moment you cross the finish line most non-professional runners just want to stop moving for a moment, catch their breath, let the feeling come back into their legs and the sweat dry from their eyes. You finished; you can now go home and celebrate your well deserved victory and move on the next item on your “Things To Do Before I Die” list. But before you do you will take just a moment and look over your shoulder and see the course that you bested.

Oh, there were moments you thought the course would best you and then there was The Wall at mile 19 when you really started to question your sanity. But you made it past the pain, the cramps, the doubt – all the obstacles – and now you are on the other side and still standing. That’s cool. (But I am still never doing one voluntarily.)

They say (whoever “they” is) that every marathoner learns something during the run that they will use to help them run better next time. Next time!? 2008 was just enough for me and ‘though I learned plenty, there isn’t going to be any “next time” if I have anything to say about it. (And as I didn’t actually have any say about it this time, I hope I made good enough notes in my “runner’s log,” just in case.)

As the clock chimed from 2008 to 2009 and I put one foot into the New Year and took my last foot out of the old one I had this wonderful sense of accomplishment. I made it! In reality, the only thing that happened was Wednesday turned to Thursday and that happens every week so actually nothing changed – but everything changed. Like every marathon runner, I am changed for having run the distance.

I imagine this was much like what Jesus felt like after being in the desert for 40 days. It is hot in the desert and he did not have 40 days of water or food with Him. What He did have was Satan tempting and taunting Him. But Jesus did not give in to the temptations, the doubts and taunts that were put before Him. He kept His mind on the finish line – His Father – and He made it to the end. (Matt. 4:1-11).

The bible is silent as to how Jesus felt after surviving His ordeal but I imagine He felt pretty good and energized and ready for action – after a really good meal, of course. That’s what 2009 feels like – fresh, new and full of possibilities. I think it’s true, there really is a “runner’s high” that kicks in after running one of these things. It charges you up and gets you ready for whatever lies ahead. I think I have it right now (that or I’m still a bit woozy from New Years Eve). Either way, 2009 is indeed going to be an exciting New Year.

Goodbye 2008 – so long, sayonara, I won’t be seeing you later (and you can keep your souvenir t-shirt).

Hello 2009 – good to see you, glad you’re here, what took you so long? It is going to be a great year (just as soon as I recover from my mile-23 leg cramp).

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