My youngest daughter completed her second marathon on Sunday and I’m so incredibly proud of her. It got me thinking about how running a marathon without dropping dead at the end, like the fabled story goes, requires a lot of training and preparation, and a successful run requires the marathoner to accept help and encouragement along the way.
If you’re reading this, I can guarantee that you are happy to help and encourage people on their journeys. It’s human nature, however, to eschew help and try to shoulder our own burdens solo.
If there’s one message that keeps coming through repeatedly, it’s that this collective energy of chaos and difficulties is not letting up anytime soon. AND we need to be willing to accept help and encouragement: from our angels, our friends, and even strangers.
If you’ve ever attended (or run) a marathon, you know that people space themselves along the route holding signs, shouting supportive things, jingling bells, and handing out water. The runners train at increasingly long intervals, but their longest run before the race is 21 miles. Their first 21 miles are difficult, to be sure, especially if there are hills or obstacles along the way. The last 5.2 miles are particularly arduous. The legs start to get taxed and heavy in a way they haven’t felt before, and the runner starts to consider walking or giving up all together. This is when the vulnerable runner needs a team behind them like never before. The shouts, the signs, the bells and whistles, the water and energy bars are so important – and don’t materialize out of a void.
It’s hard to be vulnerable. Asking for help is a virtue. Sometimes, help is offered freely, and it’s tempting to turn it down. However, the angels are sending a reminder that when that happens, it’s likely because they have tapped someone on the shoulder to suggest they reach out in love and encouragement. When you turn it down, you’re turning down Divine Help, sent to make your marathon a bit easier. Never fear. You will get your chance to be the helper again, but it won’t be as soon if you burn out or get hurt because you refused help when it was offered.
Life is a marathon. And we are all one. When we give help, and when we receive it, we benefit the collective. And so it is!
