THE EXTRAORDINARY POTATO FARMER
Today’s Message of Encouragement from Discovering A BETTER LIFE MINISTRIES
(Stories of Real People, Real Events, Real Places) Is dedicated to HELPING Men and Women Find HOPE
THROUGH SHARING GOD’S GRACE and LOVE
(Ron Bainbridge Editor) (November 25th, 2019)
THE EXTRAORDINARY POTATO FARMER
In 1983, when he was 61 years old, Cliff Young showed up to compete in the inaugural 875-kilometre race between Sydney and Melbourne. Far more gruelling than a marathon, this five-day racing event attracts only the best of the best world-class runners, athletes who know all there is to know about their sport and routinely break records by proving it.
Cliff Young was not that kind of athlete. In fact, he had never run in a race like this before and, to make matters worse, he showed up on that day in 1983 wearing gumboots and long trousers. No one considered him a runner. Everyone considered him a joke.
When asked by the media what made him think he was qualified for such a race, and what he had done to condition himself for the run, Cliff answered honestly that he was a farmer, not an athlete. His personal trainers had not been professional running coaches who understood every nuance of the sport, but rather the cows and pigs inhabiting his farm. Chasing them on foot had gotten him in shape, he explained.
Cliff was a real oddity in many ways. Not only was he seemingly too old to run in such a race and dressed inappropriately, the way Cliff moved wasn’t as much a run as it was a shuffle. He just did not pick up his legs well at all. As the race began, people along the sidelines yelled out to get the old man off the track before he killed himself.
It was quite obvious that Cliff just didn’t know any better. Living in the outback where television and newspapers were still a rarity and at a time when the world-wide-web was still unknown, Cliff was unaware of how such races were run.
He did not know, for instance, that the runners ran for 18 hours each day and then slept for six, resting and repairing their bodies for the next day’s run. The truth was that it was humanly impossible to do otherwise, but Cliff didn’t know this truth. He knew one foot had to be continually placed in front of the other. And so, like the Energizer bunny, he just kept going, going, and going.
Had Cliff finished the race in third, or fourth or even tenth place, his story would have been remarkable, especially considering that many of those he was running against were a third his age. But Cliff didn’t finish in third, fourth, or tenth place. He finished first, stepping across the finish line far ahead of the second place runner, possibly because he wasn’t aware of all the truths that said he couldn’t. And he not only won the race, he cut a day and a half off the world record time! Cliff won that record-breaking race simply because he refused to stop. He just kept on moving forward.
Friend, I hope that when you’ve got something in mind that seems impossible or others might tell you it can’t be done, that you might take some time to reflect on what an amazing thing Cliff Young accomplished in winning that marathon race 36-years ago, and that you’ll let his story motivate you into action, to achieve what is seemingly impossible.
And as I reflect on the Perseverance needed for Cliff Young to win that Sydney to Melbourne marathon race 36-years ago, it comes to my mind that it is somewhat like the Christian race that the Hebrew writer refers to in the book of Hebrews, chapter 12, verses 1 and 2, were we find recorded these words, “Therefore, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
You see Friend, just as Cliff Young was aware that one foot had to be continually placed in front of the other, you and I should know that there are certain tasks ahead of us that must be completed if we are to be successful in achieving the goals we may set for ourselves.
As Christians, it is imperative that each of us must have an active faith (James 1:5-8; 2:14-26) and persevere in the Christian race (Hebrews 10:36, 39; 1 Corinthians 9:27; Galatians 2:2; Romans 12:12). Our run needs to be consistent and enduring (See Hebrews 10:39).
We are also reminded that if we take our mind off Jesus, we will be distracted and diverted to other things and, as a consequence, discontinue our participation in the race. It is therefore essential that every Christian focus his/her attention on Jesus, who originated our faith in the Living God, and has now gone before us and is waiting for us in the heavenly realm.
Perhaps the words of this song, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSPORhV2eZY might motivate each of us to remain in the spiritual race we are engaged in, regardless of the sufferings of this present world.
To help you win your personal spiritual race, we’d be pleased to send you our FREE pamphlets titled “THE SUCCESS PLAN” and “The RELENTLESS LOVE of GOD.”
To receive your Complementary copies, simply write to Discovering A BETTER LIFE, P.O. Box 1540, Albany WA 6331 Or you may Email us at: bainbridge16@gmail.com
“Success is not measured by what a person accomplishes,
But by the opposition they have encountered, and the
Courage with which they have maintained the
Struggle against overwhelming odds.”
(Orison Swett Marden)
Friend, We invite You To Partner With Us,
By Sharing Discovering A BETTER LIFE
With a Friend, a Loved, one or a Co-worker!
“I Will Run To You”
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