What happens along the way

When one of our daughters was a sophomore in high school, we had just moved to a new location.  On her first day as the new girl at cross country practice, the coach asked each of the runners to jot down their goals for the season.  Some focused on surviving the daily workouts.  Others were concerned about injuries. Our daughter wrote down, "Go to state."  The coach chuckled when he saw it.  "In the history of our school, the girls' cross country team has never qualified for the state competition," he replied as if to say, "totally unrealistic"

But something happened along the way...

That "totally unrealistic" goal of our daughter's changed what she did.  She trained smarter.  She trained harder.  She did her best.  And although she may not have won first place in a meet, she watched carefully those who were.  What did they do differently in practice?  What did they do differently in a race?

The goal itself put her on a different course and mindset.  

But while heading for what was considered unrealistic, something else happened along the way.   It impacted everyone else on the team.  This diverse group of girls of all abilities began to pull together.  They cheered for each other.  They had pasta parties.  They made headbands and t-shirts.  They celebrated Saturday meets by wearing their warmups to class on Fridays.  They decorated lockers and cars and sent each other encouraging notes.  They became a team.

Against the odds, they won their district meet and advanced to the regional meet.  Four teams would be chosen at regionals to go to the state competition.  In cross country, the team that wins is not determined by the first runner across the line, but often by the last.  The places of the top five runners on the team are added up.

On that particular October day, under a sky so blue, the first three winning teams were predictable and were announced one after the other. And then, there was a brief pause. "The final team to go to state is ....." the announcer drew out the syllables.  Sssssssss...It could be any number of schools there that started with the letter S.  It was going to be that close.  "Sycamore," he said at last.

The girls on my daughter's team screamed. They did it.  They were going to state.  Tears flowed.  And after all these many years, I can still see the coach in the team tent, down on his knees.

Be unrealistic this year.  Work toward it.  And pray even more.

We never can know what will happen along the way.
But God does.  

It's not about getting our way or a singular answer to prayer, but all about God's faithfulness in the long run.  He may take us to that specific place.  He may change us on the way there. He may place something entirely unexpected on our path. He may redirect our affections. He may radically change our story.  Or our hearts.
But God always responds.

What happens along the way is a realization of His faithfulness.

Therefore I say unto you,
"All things whatsoever you pray
                        and ask for,
believe that you have received them,
and you shall have them." 

                         Mark 11.24

In his classic book With Christ in the School of Prayer, author Andrew Murray states:
"God forbid that we should try and bring down His ALL THINGS to the level of what we think possible.  Let us now simply take Christ's 'WHATEVER' as the measure and the hope of our faith:  it is a seed-word which, if taken just as He gives it, and kept in the heart, will unfold itself and strike root, fill our life with its fullness, and bring forth fruit abundantly."

We have no idea what God will unfold along the way.
That's His specialty.