Let's Cheer Each Other On Today

I’m standing at the finish line of a half-marathon. I see my daughter, Lovelle, round the final corner of the race. The course ends with a hill and I watch as she climbs it along with other runners, each step requiring extra effort because of the steepness.

Our daughter is one of the most resilient people I know. She came into our lives when she was twenty after a decade of infertility for us and a lifetime of difficulty for her. She has taught me so much about what it means to be brave and strong. So on this day I do what I have for years now, I cheer her on.

Others around me do the same for their loved ones. Parents cheering on children. Friends yelling encouragement, “You can do this!” Coworkers wearing matching shirts showing up to support one of their own.

I thought of this scene recently with what’s going on in our world. We’re in a race we didn’t train for or expect. Some of us are facing steeper hills than we ever have, like the loss of a job, dream, or someone we love. All of us are facing fear and uncertainty, which have always been part of being human. 

I wrote Cheering You On: 50 Reasons Why Anything Is Possible with God before Covid-19. I wrote it because my daughter didn’t get to hear the words I wish she had growing up. I wrote it because I now also have grandchildren and I want them to know as soon as they can that God is their biggest fan. I wrote it because as a life coach, counselor, and author who has engaged with thousands of people, I know life isn’t an easy walk in the park.

              “Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us….Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 CSB)

Today we are runners in a race none of us would have chosen, one whose finish line we can’t yet see. We’re also, like I was at my daughter’s half-marathon, witnesses to the journeys of others. We can help each other keep our eyes on Jesus. We can trust there is still joy ahead of us. We can, most of all and more than ever before, choose to cheer each other on. 

Holley Gerth is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of several books, including Cheering You On: 50 Reasons Anything Is Possible with God, and has partnered with DaySpring for over twenty years.