By Jim Nichols

One of the better decisions I made as a youth was to conclude that I was not a sprinter. When children are learning to walk, they also learn to run. Once they learn to run, it seems that they run everywhere. It is really quite amazing as an adult to watch children run from one activity to another. It seems to be an inbuilt drive that running is required. Furthermore, as our bodies got bigger and stronger (at least that is what boys seemed to believe in my experience), it was not sufficient simply to run, but to run faster than others can run. Life took on a competitive feature that remains and, in my opinion, may offer more negative outcomes than positive in the long run.

My father was a sprinter as a younger person, or so I understood from my mother and a couple of things he said. I have no firsthand knowledge of that except for one summer evening in the middle of our street. As a twelve-year old feeling my early puberty energy, I asked my dad to race me from in front of our house down to three houses away. There was really no contest as he easily pulled away from me. It was the last time I challenged him to race.

As I got older however, I did develop some sprinting speed. There were always a few other guys who were faster, though, including my best friend, David. There were a couple of girls faster too; Nancy and Marilyn were speedy.

In high school I discovered that distance running was more suitable to my abilities. I had stamina that most others lacked; it was also to my advantage to be willing to practice by running long distances and taking a significant time to do it. I learned the skill of pacing as I spread out my energy and used it gradually. I also appreciated that the involvement of pacing in life was not limited to the cross-country course or the track. Sometimes, in fact, pacing is the best approach to dealing with life responsibilities and challenges. It is particularly helpful as one reaches more “mature” ages.

A chaplain supervisor told a group of us recently that when a call from the hospital emergency room arrived, we did not need to run to that request. “The physicians, nurses, and technicians will logically come close to running,” he said, “but the chaplains do not need to run. Your role involves getting there soon, but your presence accomplishes something different than the medical people. Your roles involve speaking, comforting, clarifying, and trying to calm.” Another chaplain supervisor in another place and time told me, “It is actually to a chaplain’s advantage to get older.” Since I felt he was describing me, I appreciated that statement.

A movie several years ago featured the main character stating emphatically, “I feel the need for speed.” Really? Is that a healthy view of what life requires? How did we get trapped on a treadmill accelerating but not going anywhere? Do you get on a treadmill occasionally but realize you are not moving from point A to point B? Do you look at your appointment book and have the same feeling? I do.

Is it too weird to encourage one another to pace ourselves? This is not just an aging phenomenon. Aging does clarify its reality, but it is an important part of life for a person trying to be a follower of God.

We can only move or think as fast as our heartbeat allows. The undesirable but necessary consequence is that we may have to quit or rearrange aspects of our lives that have been or are important to us. We might have to step away from some responsibilities. We will have to learn one of my least favorite sentences: “I cannot do this like I used to.”

Let us believers keep reminding one another that we do not have to earn God’s approval and love. That is already part of God’s nature. We can live with the strengths we have today (not yesterday) and trust that God’s care and forgiveness never waver.

Jim Nichols is a retired Abilene Christian University biology professor and current hospital chaplain