They are watching

​Eight years ago, these two boys spent the day at the finish line of the Richmond Marathon waiting for their slow and plodding dad to finish his first marathon.

Boy did they get a lesson in patience that day....

Out there on that course, battling the pains of tackling what was once unimaginable for me, I lost sight of the reality.

They are watching.

Some days that reality comes with great joy, seeing my marathon finish through their eyes. May what they see lift them to places they have not yet imagined, Lord.

They are watching.

Yet, there are days, days I come up short of being the man I want those eyes to see, and it is frightening, quite honestly. May their eyes guide them beyond the mistakes they have seen, Lord.

They are watching.

And yet, here I am, no longer a kid, somewhat like the men my eyes have seen, and in many ways quite the opposite. For it is our hearts and minds and souls that ultimately determine our paths.

And our finish lines.

But they were there, my kids. They did not quit waiting for a man who did not quit.

And they have been here the last several years through some hard times together. And still they have seen, the same, maybe even more, a man who will not quit.

And so I don't take it lightly, when I know they are and when I'm completely unaware of it.

They are watching.

Sometimes us, sometimes our spirit.

They are watching.