I Have Finished the Race

Thanks for reflecting with me again this week. This reflection will be a little different, and like last week, it will be more of a chance to reflect over our lives than it will be insights on scripture. I hope you find it helpful. Sometimes it’s nice to mix it up a bit!

Speaking of which, this summer we’ll take the opportunity to reshare past episodes. If you, like me, follow the Sunday Lectionary, it might feel disconcerting to read a reflection in the summer on a reading from the seasons of Advent or Christmas or Easter,  but, hear me out, it also might be helpful to reflect on readings out of time and out of order. Maybe we’ll all hear the readings in different ways at different times. I hope so.

So, I hope you stick with me through the summer, and then we’ll resume new content in the fall. And if you have insights or suggestions, you can always feel free to reach out to me at GodSpace@GodSpaceCommunity.com. You can also find a contact form on our website.

So, to this week’s reading and reflection:

In our Second Reading this week, Paul is reflecting over his life. It’s a sharing that’s a little more pensive than Paul usually is. Usually he’s writing to communities, encouraging, challenging, instructing. Now though, he’s at the end of his life and from this perspective, he’s thinking about his own life journey and how that’s been and how he is with God.

Paul’s perspective reminds me of a place In the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola where there’s an opportunity to reflect from the perspective of the end of our life. It’s a tool meant to help us with decision making. When I look back over my life from the perspective of my deathbed, how will I feel about this decision? How will I think about this decision?

Is that morbid? Maybe. Or, it might be a helpful exercise in perspective taking. Some aspects of our lives may seem huge and looming right now, but if we take a step back and see them in the context of our whole lives, they’re not that big of a deal. Or, other things may suddenly become consequential when considered this way.

Paul uses the image of a race. I’m not sure if that’s apt for us or not. I do run sometimes, but I’m so slow I would never win! And is life a race to be won anyway? Is it a competition? I don’t think it is. However, it is a journey, and sometimes we might be running along (I’m in a space in life where every day feels like a sprint!). At other times we may have the luxury of a stroll.

Whether we’re in the throes of a decision or not, maybe we could take a moment for some perspective taking to consider where we are with God, whether we’re being invited to move in a direction or respond in some way, if there’s something God is trying to tell us.

So, when you consider your life now, what’s your pace? How does it feel? How is God with you as you move through life these days? How, like Paul, is God standing by you to give you strength?

Where have you been on this road? And you can think all the way back to your infancy or even before that to your ancestors, or you can consider more recent times. Where have you come from? And maybe you want to pause here and really enter in.

In this very moment, where do you find yourself? How do you feel? What are you thinking about? What brings you joy? For what are you grateful? What challenges you? What breaks your heart?

Who’s with you on the journey? Who are your loved ones? Who are you meeting along the way – any new friends or companions? Who’s challenging in your life now and why? Why do they feel challenging, or why are they challenging you? How can you love them and yourself more deeply?

Where are you going? As you look ahead on the journey, what do you anticipate? What worries you? What excites you? What do you hope for? What do you long for?

As you look at the ways you have been poured out like a libation, what do you notice? What has been so important to you that you have willingly and lovingly poured yourself out for? What have you poured yourself into?

Has it been worth it to pour yourself out in this way? What does this pouring out tell you about yourself? What does it tell you about how and what and whom you love?

What does it tell you about God?

Let’s just take a few more moments in quiet to see what emerges. What else does God want to tell you?

By Sister Leslie Keener, CDP

Sister Leslie Keener, CDP is the director of God Space, a community-building spirituality ministry in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. She’s a Sister of Divine Providence with a Masters in Ministry and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and Retreats from Creighton University. She directs retreats, meets with people for spiritual direction, and serves as the vocation director for her community. She enjoys music, dancing, meaningful conversations, and running. Just kidding; she feels medium about running.