Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (deceased) wrote:
In recent years, running has become popular throughout the world. Many run primarily for exercise. But others run to condition themselves for well publicized grades of various distances. Perhaps the premier endurance is the marathon, a modern-day race that has its roots in ancient Greece. Today, the meaning of the word marathon has been broadened to include any contrast or activity of great length that requires extraordinary effort and endurance.
A young friend of mine, whom I will call Alan, recently ran his first marathon—a distance of 26.2 miles. He set his goal several months in advance, learned what preparation was required, and disciplined himself to follow a rigorous training schedule. He sought the advice of experienced runners and read articles on running a marathon. He practiced running the marathon route and practices a strategy for traversing the hilly course.
Finally, the day arrived; it would be the culmination of months of training, discipline, and sacrifice. He got off to a good start in a large crowd of runners. He felt strong and confident, following his pre-determined strategy. About eight miles into the race, on a downhill part or the course, he caught up with an experienced runner named Brent, who had given him sound advice during his training. Alan decided to match his stride with Brent’s disciplined, experienced pace.
As they passed the eighteen mile mark, Alan struggled to stay with Brent so that someone he knew would be by his side if he began “hitting the wall.” Hitting the wall means feeling a sudden urge to quit, encountering an almost tangible barrier that requires a tremendous effort to overcome. It often comes at the twenty mile mark.
For the next two miles Alan kept pace with Brent. Then it hit him. He felt a sudden loss of energy, an almost overwhelming desire to stop or walk. “Stay with me”, Brent said. “We all feel it at some point.You can get through it. I’ll help you pull through.”
Somehow Alan continued. He and Brent began to pass spectators. He knew his wife, children and other families would be watching about one mile ahead. Drawing on the strength provided by thoughts of his family, he was able to hang on until the desire to quit left him.
As Alan and Brent finally neared the finish, Alan found the last mile to be the hardest of all. The two runners crossed the finish line just five seconds apart. Alan was more exhausted than he’d ever been but elated because he had beaten his goal by more than fifteen minutes and had finished among the top twenty-five runners.
In some respects, progressing through life is like running a marathon. Young people are at the beginning of their earthly sojourn. They chose to come to earth and to be tested and proved, and the end may seem too far away to concern them now. But life, like a marathon, requires a good start, and a strong, consistent effort all the way to the finish.
Just as marathon runners set explicit goals, so should each of us, young and old alike, look ahead and decide what we want to do with our lives. Now is the time for us to fix clearly in our minds what we want to be or what we want to be doing one year from now, five years, ten years and beyond. If we have not already received a patriarchal blessing, we should set a goal to receive one and strive to live worthy of its promises. A patriarchal blessing is one of the most important guides in life that members can enjoy. We should write down our goals and review them regularly, keep our goal before us constantly, record our progress and revise our goals as circumstances dictate. Our ultimate goal should be eternal life—the kind of life God lives, the greatest of all the gifts of God.
After we visualize our lives as we would like to be in five, ten, or twenty years from now, we should identify the preparation we will need and determine to pay the price in effort, money, study, and prayer. We should be sure we understand the course or path we will be taking. The ideal course of life is not always easy, and comparatively few will find it and complete it. It is not a well-marked freeway, but a narrow path with only one entrance. The way to life is strait and narrow.
When I think of staying on the right path, I am reminded of Lehi’s dream about the tree of life. In it, the love God was likened unto a tree that bore delicious fruit that was desirable above all others. Nephi recorded his father’s words: “And I also beheld a strait and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree. . . . And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree.” (1 Nephi 8:20-21.) Many of these people later “fell into forbidden paths and were lost” (v.28),but those who ignored the scoffing and ridicule of the world and held to the rod of iron enjoyed the fruit of the tree. The rod of iron represents the word of God, which leads us to the love of God. (See 1 Nephi 11;25.) We must hold firmly to the rod of iron through the mists of darkness, the hardships and trials of life. If we relax our grips and drift from the path, the rod of iron might become lost in the darkness for a time until we repent and regain our grasp on it.
Remember that success results when preparation meets opportunity in our lives. We will not always know precisely what opportunities or when they will come, but we can be sure they will be valuable only to the extent that we are prepared to respond to them. We can see the equation of preparation and opportunity equaling success in the lives of the leaders of the Church, government, business, professions and, hopefully in our own lives.
Preparation is vitally important in the Church so that we can do our part when called upon and so that the Lord can use us when he needs us.
If life is a marathon, we should get the help we need, and not depend on our own strength alone. We have never done all we can to finish the task until we have sought help from the Lord, loved ones, Church leaders, and friends. ~~Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (deceased), Finding Peace in Our Lives (Salt Lake City, Deseret Book, 1995), p.147-150
