Be Prepared for the Hurdles

Ty and I were talking about things we used to love to do when we were kids and I told him how i used to ask if i could go 'play track'! LOL! we were both cracking up and i proceeded to tell him of a story of when i was on the schools track team. i was definitely a sprinter, but i thought i could do it all since i was so fast. my coach approached me and asked if i would do hurdles and i was so excited because of his confidence in me. the next few days we were going over the hurdles, but i was so sure that i was going to be fine, that i pretty much brushed it off. the following weekend we had a meet and i was so excited b/c it was my first one! i hadnt really practiced much on the hurdles, but it couldnt be that hard, huh? well, finally, the BIG day had come! i did well in the 200, 400, and the 400 relays. It was time for me to shine with the hurdles as well. Well, little did i know, the lack of preparation was going to show up and knock me on my face! Once the race started, i took off, as soon as i saw the first hurdle come around, the confidence that was once there was immediately gone! i didnt know how far to lift my knees, the proper form, my whole position was way OFF! first hurdle, i stumbled a little bit, but it caused an uneasiness in my mind, and quickly, the second one was approaching and not only did i hit the hurdle, but fell on my face! I just couldnt get it, but still wondering why I COULDNT GET IT RIGHT!? i was so embarrassed and mad at myself at the same time. after beating myself up, my coach finally came to me and asked me what did i think the problem was. I told him it was his fault! Ha, the nerve of me! I still remember how his face softened and as he said, 'Ericka, i showed you what you were supposed to do to prevent that from happening. I ran with you through every hurdle in practice to signal to you when the next one was coming. I coached you the entire time and I had confidence in you that you would do great, but YOU let them defeat you!' As i was telling this story to Ty, we BOTH recieved a similiar revelation! In order to defeat the hurdles, we have to be prepared for them. I KNEW the hurdles were coming during my race, but i just didnt know how to conquer them. In life, we are going to have hurdles, thats just the way it is, a scripture in the book of James says, 'WHEN troubles come our way..." (James 1:2,3) not "IF", but WHEN...How are you going to handle them? if we are prepared for them, it will make life so much easier. we will eliminate the complaining, the doubt, and self pity and when we are prepared, we are already victorious, no matter how many hurdles may be coming our way. without the hurdles, there would be nothing to overcome!

Preparation: Ephesians 6:10-11, 14-17 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes… Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."