I watched a video on YouTube of a women's championship track meet where part way through the race, one of the runners trips and falls flat on her face.  She immediately picks herself up and not only starts to run again but ends up winning.

As I watched the video I thought of the many times I've fallen flat on my face. The many times I didn't want to get back up.  I wanted to stay on the ground and cry, feeling sorry for myself.  Like the end of a long dating relationship.  The hard moments of raising a son as a single mom.  I usually came to the conclusion that I might as well give up.  My "race" was over.

The attitude of not giving up reminds me of the story of Dallas Willard's last days fighting pancreatic cancer.  One person who knew him said, "that the phrase that came to his mind, watching Dallas walk in the valley of the shadow of death, was 'Game on."'[i]

Both these stories inspire me. I need stories like these to encourage me and shift my perspective from "all is lost" to "I'm going to get up and keep going." They remind me to not give up even when the pain is real, and no one would blame me for staying on the ground.  As the Apostle Paul said, "We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don't know what to do, we never give up (2 Corinthians 4:8 CEV). 

Recalling that image of the runner picking herself up and the words "Game on" spurs me on during the most difficult days.  It gives me the added strength and determination to endure.  I might be bloodied. I might be limping. I might be hurting so badly I want to die. But the game is on and I make the choice to pick myself up, to not quit until the race is over. 

What about you?  What choice would you make?