Push Through, You Might Be Surprised

When I first joined the Army, I had never really been into running. I played some sports, and was a pretty active kid, but never pushed myself or really worked hard at running.

In Basic Training, running isn't really a choice.

In Basic they would have three groups that would go out for runs in the morning. The A, the B, and the C group. A was the skinny long distance running people, B the middle of the road, and C those who really struggled. I went for group B. I didn't think much about it, I just figured that was the right group for me.

I remember a few days in, during one of our runs I thought to myself, "Maybe Basic won't be so bad, I can do this." No sooner had I finished that thought, my Drill Sergeant screamed at me, "Sabo! If I ever see you in B group again, I will destroy you!" That was his way of telling me, he felt I belonged in the A group.

From then on through Basic, I was pushed to my limit each day. Surrounded by skinny runners who found joy in it. It was a pretty difficult couple months.

After Basic Training, you go to something called, AIT, it is basically the schooling for your specific job; but school with Drill Sergeants. My first morning there I jumped into formation for the morning run, and began practicing in my mind what faces I could make that would make me look exhausted.

Just before we took off, our First Sergeant yelled to our Drill Sergeant, "Hold up!" "I smell a couple runners in this group..." He walked slowly through the group looking up and down all these soldiers, and yep, you guessed it, he stopped at me and said, "Soldier, you're mine now."

Our First Sergeant had a special running group called, "Quick Strike" This group ran with the First Sergeant, and that man loved to run... fast... and far.

For the next few weeks I felt like I was going to die. My lungs were always burning, my legs were always hurting. During these runs, our First Sergeant would always be yelling at us, "keep pushing through soldier, you may find a strength you didn't know you had."

At first it just felt like he was mocking my pain.

Then one day as we were running, I felt my body desperately wanting to quit; but there was this voice in my head, maybe there is a strength in me I didn't know I had. So I pushed, I pushed against my pain, I pushed against the burning in my lungs, I pushed through reason.

Then something happened I never expected. All the pain, all the burning almost completely faded away. It was like there was this switch inside me that decided what I used to consider great pain, was now just a mild inconvenience.

My First Sergeant pushed me to learn a really important lesson. When you refuse to quit, when you refuse to give up, when you choose to push through, you find something in you, that you didn't know was there.

The Bible says it this way, Isaiah 40:31 "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

So let me encourage you with this thought, push through. Whether it's a relationship, a job, or a goal, choose to push through.

It may feel impossible, it may seem like there is no way you can push through. So let me share those words that were shared with me.

"Keep pushing through soldier, you may find a strength you didn't know you had."