“As soon as we go around this corner, Mom, you will see the finish line,” said my daughter, Hannah. We were walking a 5k in the Scotiabank Bluenose Marathon. Hannah could have run the 10k with ease, but she signed up for the 5k walk to be my guide and encourager. We rounded the corner and saw the big arch of the finish line. Then something odd happened. As we approached the end, I had this horrible fear that I wouldn’t be able to finish, that my feet would not carry me any further. Why?

A young woman on my Sunday School team said the arch looked further away than it was and that the last stretch was uphill. Technically it was a more challenging part of the route. This was not really surprising. It is often just before a major accomplishment, significant  change or restoration, that we encounter the greatest resistance.

Sometimes, we can see the finish line ahead but at other times, we have no idea how close we are. This is when we are most tempted to quit. This is also when we need to keep putting one foot in front of the other and refuse to back down. I once had a dream, during a difficult period of my life, that I was riding a bicycle towards a destination. I was not sure of my physical ability to ride the bicycle nor of my knowledge of how to get to the place I was heading. I just knew that if I  kept riding, I would arrive.

Situations can come unexpectedly into our lives. They may seem so bewildering and hurtful that we have no ready answers,  That is exactly the time when God wants us to keep walking, keep walking, keep riding, keep riding, trusting him that the outcome of our journey is entirely in his hands. We will reach our destination. We will come through the finish line.

Hannah and I walked through the arch together, holding hands, and feeling the triumph of completing our race. The sense of dread, that I wouldn’t make it to the end, was only a feeling. Reaching our goal was well attainable but if I had stopped walking, I would never have finished my course.

Refuse to quit. Never give up. You may be way closer to victory than you think.