"Where...Have...All the Real Men Gone?"

"Where...have...all the real men gone?"or women, for that matter...

I had to ask myself this after reading a text from someone,
asking me to pray for a friend who had just received 'divorce papers' from her husband...
She was in complete shock that he did not take the time to speak with her before dumping his exhausted displeasure into the laps of her and their autistic child.

It was also heartbreaking and familiar to my friend, as she had just been through a long and serious relationship filled with promises of love and a future with a man she thought she had waited for, 

all her life.

Apparently, he felt differently, for he mustered the "courage" to send her a text message and tell her so.

Heartbroken still, she is moving on.

Just as we all eventually do,
when our hearts have been laid bare., and we suddenly realize our reality was truly...shared by only one.

As I stared thoughtfully into the distance, I wondered why, 

not necessarily....

why relationships end, 

but why they sometimes,
finish so terribly..

At what point should men (or women for that matter) take stock of a relationship and consider, that they should leave as admirably,
as they entered, into the others life.

Surely we owe it to the 'once'

loves of our lives' to gather courage in adversity and speak face to face and heart to heart.

The path of least resistance 

is not a gift to a soul yearning for answers.

But sometimes, in our search for love, we sadly find ourselves on a path with someone who is simply not willing to stay the course, someone who has not learned to run well. 

At a critical moment when they could endure to a glorious finish...

they simply stumble into the crowd, with barely a look back.

Again, I questioned.

Where are the real men?...the real women?

Where are they?

Are they still among us....closer than we think.?

In the book of Philippians, we read the apostle Paul's writing on running the race set before us and finishing well.

As is critical to any race, we must keep our eyes on the prize. 

Even if someone else...

runs into the crowd with our memories.

We are called to stay true to our purpose...true to the finish.

We are called to finish well.

We still carry with us a sense of purpose....regardless of anyone else.

We are still in the race...

And we are not alone.

We learn to run the race confidently when we reach towards and run soulfully with Jesus, 

the one man who lived a life of real love....
He exemplified to each of us how to become real men and women of God...,
He demonstrated to us..
how to become the very ones we are in search of.

If we continue to run the race set before us...keeping our eyes on the prize...

there will come a day when someone else who has been left 

seemingly alone 

to run their race....finds you...,

an answer to 'their' prayers,

Running your race with Christ...satisfied and content...

and closer than they ever dreamt possible.

Application:

Am I willing to look beyond myself to this man named Jesus and give Him an opportunity to lead my race and guide my course?

If God calls me to run my race only with Him...will I be willing to trust Him to be my one and only?

Remember:

Just like a seasoned athlete, real men and women go to great lengths to finish well.

Be determined to finish well, regardless of a change in the plan...

You just might become the blessing at the end of someone else's prayer.

When your heart is laid bare...and lets face it, we've all been there...
know simply...
that your reality 

truly is.....still...shared by ONE...in a race that has just begun.