Thread by @KolaOyeneyin, Covid19 - This is a marathon, not a sprint! These are two [...]

Covid19 - This is a marathon, not a sprint!

These are two faces you may know. On the left is arguably one of the greatest long distance (marathon) runners of all time. On the right is without a doubt, the fastest man to ever live; he’s a sprint specialist.

A thread...

What can their lives and careers teach us in this time of crisis?

They teach us that there’s a difference between speed and endurance. That there are times when speed is absolutely necessary for survival (for you’re being chased by a lion for instance), and

there are times when all you need is the ability to go the distance, endurance. Knowing this, the way Usain Bolt prepares for a 100m or 200m meter dash is very different from the way Eliud Kipchoge prepares for a 42Kilometer marathon.

One race is called a dash, the other is called a long-distance run.

Friends, the current crisis is not a dash, it is not a sprint. This crisis is a marathon! It is a race we didn’t sign up for, or were even mentally, physically, financially or socially prepared up,

but we’ve all be enlisted. It is now, a case of the “survival of the fittest”, in every sense. I’ll be lying to you if I said this crisis would be over when we all go back to work, church or school, or are able to travel. Not so! The impact of this will remain for many months

(Maybe even years) to come. The fact that it is not a sprint then means we have to prepare like marathon runners.

How do we prepare for the long haul?

1. Accept the challenge; every marathon runner accepts to enter the race. You can’t afford to be in a denial anymore. Life has thrown lemon at us, accept the challenge and make a tasty lemonade out of it.

2. Practice; every marathon runner practices their endurance runs every single day. What is yours? What’s your daily routine that prepares you for long distance? Prayer? Books? Cooking? Learning something new?

3. Build mental Strength; sprints require speed, marathons require strength. I have no idea how those who don’t believe in God, are currently surviving. For me, that’s my source of strength. As a Christian, the Joy of the Lord is my strength. I derive a lot of strength from God!

4. Build physical strength; a marathon runner runs, sometimes with a heavy backpack, to build core strength. The food they eat is different from what a sprinter eats, it’s all part of strength building. You’re going to need physical strength! The meds call it your immune system

5. Seize the day; a marathon runner siezes the day before the day siezes them. What you do in your first 2 - 3 hours of the day in the next few weeks, will how well you end this marathon.

6. Prepare for impact; the impact of this crisis will not only hit us social, but economically. A marathon runner hits something called “the wall”, this is when they’ve run for about 3hrs and it’s like they can’t go any further.

That’s the impact point. That’s where 90% of runners stop, fall down and just cry. The Eliud and Gebrselassie of this world push past the wall, to the finishing line.

7. Finish strong; the closer we get to the end of this, from the lockdown to the recession that may follow, save up your inner strength so you don’t only pass “the wall” but finish strong.

While we continue to pray that all this ends soon, it will be sad to not prepare for raining season during the dry season; it’s why we are in this crisis in the first place. From now on, please consider the ant. Selah

#FinishStrong #ConsiderTheAnt

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