Running The Race
by Don Schin
I love the quote by Anthony Gucciardi. “You were not born to just go to work, pay bills, and die.” This life isn’t about saying a prayer, and then ‘hanging on’ until you die. We need to take this time on earth seriously. We need to treat it with a sense of urgency. Jesus’s brother James said our time on earth is like a vapor when compared to eternity. Running the race, living a legacy life, must be an intentional decision with intentional action. We must make the most of every opportunity (reference Ephesians 5:16; Galatians 5:22-23.)
“What you do in the present will last into God’s future.” (Philip Yancey) What are you focusing on? What garners most of your attention; what are your dominant thoughts? (Reference Philippians 4:8.) How are you living? What’s going to bring a ‘return on investment’? I encourage you to ask yourself these questions. Personally, I do every week. I ask them of myself, I pray and mediate over them in my prayer closest. Am I thinking about what I’m supposed to be thinking about? If Christ is all that matters and I’m seeking the Kingdom first, do my thoughts and actions show it?
For me God has put on my heart to impact 4 generations: to impact the lives of my grandchildren’s grandchildren. I think about it every day. I’m deliberate about the things I choose to think about and the things I choose to get involved in.
So practically speaking, while challenging people in my teaching, preaching, and writing, I will always give you actual things you can do. I will share what I do. It may not be right for you, but it could spark some ideas, some thoughts, and some prayers. God specifically designed a life-course for each of us — a ‘race’ to run. You need to find out yours, and run it with passion and urgency.
What kinds of things do I do? Here are a few. Again, not to bring attention to me or that I’m perfect or that I’ve got it all figured out. But rather to be a catalyst for you. A motivation to pray about it. To take small steps. To do SOMETHING!
One simple one, but that takes an investment of time, is to be involved in my grandchildren’s lives. My daughter has blessed us with 7! So this isn’t easy on the calendar! I play games with them. I’ll take them out for ‘coffee’ (smoothies for them) and talk about what their dreams are. My oldest grandson wants to start a business. I can help him with that.
I try to get on their level, see what they value, sometimes physically so I’m not ‘talking down’ at them but eye to eye. I’ll ask them about what they’re thinking and doing when they’re playing. Or when they give me something, a drawing, or a bracelet that they made, we put it on the fridge, or I wear it around the kids so they know we appreciate what they have given me that was valuable or important to them.
I also share them in the ‘give’, my caring for others, paying it forward. So when the organizations I sit on boards of directors for have events, we go together. A walk to raise money for the charity. An open house or block party at the city community center. Even with my own kids while they were young and still living in the house, we went to the woman’s shelter to cook some meals for the residents so they could understand that life isn’t that easy for everyone. We took meals to the homeless living under bridges. To this day my son at 30 still remembers the cardboard towns, the people leaving their shoes outside of their make-shift tents.
To me it’s about investing my time with them as well as trying to be an example of a godly man. It’s showing them how to live for the glory of God, not just talking about it.
So…what “territory” has He given YOU to impact? What are you going to do about it? If you don’t know what it is yet, PRAY. But don’t just wait, do something, try something. God won’t get mad at you for doing something good WHILE He’s putting together, or communicating your race to you.
Don Schin has extensive global experience in Asia with Fortune 500 companies. He speaks fluent Japanese. After stepping out of the corporate rat race 23 years ago, he now owns a franchise broker and consulting company. Don is a seasoned professional speaker and writer, authoring the book, Can you Relate?, sharing a map of his most successful years in business, so others can experience the same. Don is active in his community where his time is devoted to men’s groups, local churches, and non-profit boards including recent past chair of the Bethesda Mission, the largest rescue mission in Harrisburg, PA. He also served as the chaplain for an AA baseball team via Baseballchapel.org. Don enjoys spending time with his wife, Kim, of 45 years. They have two grown children and seven grandchildren.
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