We get to do this!

James Lawrence is known as "The Iron Cowboy". He is most famous for running an insane number of triathlons. I heard him share his experience at a recent event, and was intrigued enough to dig up and watch a documentary on him after that, called "50-50-50". 

An Ironman triathlon comprises a consecutive 3.9km swim, 181km bicycle ride and 42.2 km run, vs an Olympic triathlon which is already a fairly fearsome 1.5 km swim, 40 km bicycle ride and 10 km run. The Olympic triathlon sounds like it might conceivably be do-able, but let's face it, the Ironman triathlon sounds ridiculous.

One day, James decided that he was going to do the 50-50-50. What is 50-50-50? 

50 Ironman triathlons, in the 50 different US states, on 50 consecutive days.

WHAAT?!?

James' friends told him that the world record for number of Ironman triathlons in a year was 20. You know, James, you just need to do 21 to break the record.

And James' answer was, it's not about beating someone else. It's about setting standards. Don't let the existing record limit your thinking. And don't worry about someone else beating the record later. 

Wow. Isn't that something?

If you watch the documentary, you'll see that James almost immediately ran into problems with logistics, weather, injury and plain exhaustion, sleeping mere hours on a bus each night as he moved from state to state, completing Ironman after Ironman, while dealing with online criticism as an attention-seeker, as he sought to raise funds for charity as part of his titanic endeavour.

For one particular Ironman, he took on the challenge of completing the race while bringing along a young man with disabilities, called Dayton. He swam while pulling Dayton behind him on a little dinghy, cycled with Dayton in a bicycle attachment, then ran with Dayton in a sort of pram.

Even amidst the terrible, terrible exhaustion, James recalled thinking - Dayton can't swim. I get to swim. Dayton can't cycle. I get to cycle. Dayton can't run. I get to run.

I get to do this. This very hard thing. What a privilege. 

And after 50 days of running a barely believable gauntlet of challenges, filled with grit and self-doubt, exhaustion and exhilaration, James Lawrence completes the mammoth task of 50-50-50. Incredible.

There's a bit of unattributed prose that you might find on the internet, which goes:

What a privilege to be tired from the work you once asked the universe for.

What a privilege to be overwhelmed by the growth you used to dream about.

What a privilege to be challenged by a life you created on purpose.

And what a privilege to now outgrow the things you used to settle for.

We all have dreams and ambitions, from when we were kids. Policeman, fireman, athlete, or maybe for the somewhat more complicated among us, private equity investor, politician, or tech entrepreneur! And it's not just about careers of course. We dream of being husbands and wives, parents and grandparents, missionaries and philanthrophists.

A few of us get there, but most of us adjust along the way and get somewhere else. Regardless, the bottom line is that we spend most of our lives pursuing some dream or other. And there will be days when we are tired out. Days when we feel overwhelmed. Days when we want to let go of the challenge we've taken up.

Maybe it's some intractable problem in the workplace or community. Maybe it's the grind of caring for toddlers. Maybe it's the conundrum of raising teenagers. We hit a wall.

But what a privilege to be tired out, challenged, or even overwhelmed by the very things I had hoped and dreamed and reached and worked for - marriage partnership, parenthood, complex workplace and ministry challenges. And to continually graduate from one stage to another, outgrowing the things I learn and would previously have been happy to settle for.

What a privilege.

There are days when there are enormous work challenges, the issues mushrooming faster than we can put them down, with some people doubting or even working against us. The pressure is immense. But I remember - what would I have given to have the opportunity to make these wildly complex, massively challenging decisions when I was younger! All the hard work, thinking and lobbying that was put in to pave the way to get to this point. It's a privilege to be challenged by the growth I used to dream about! 

There were days, especially when I first got married, when I used to quarrel ferociously with my wife, and it all seemed terribly difficult. But I remember - what would I have given to have this amazing woman say yes to me when I first met her! All the over-the-top things I did to convince her that we were the right people for each other. It's a privilege to be challenged by this life I created on purpose!

There are days when I wonder how to address the many issues in the communities that I work with, and the solutions seem out of reach; simply beyond our capability or capacity to resolve. People, funding, programmes, relationships - it all seems too much trouble. But I remember - what would I have given to have this opportunity to make a difference. All the doors that God opened so that I could be in this position to even consider the work. It's a privilege to be tired from the work I asked God for!

One of my favourite Bible passages is from John 5:35, where Jesus says of John the Baptist:

"John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light."

What a privilege it would be to live like that. To be a lamp that burns fiercely, that gives light for a time, so that others may enjoy that light.

A friend of mine used to say to us, when we faced a big or tiring challenge: 

"It's not that we have to do this. It's that we get to do this."

Or as my wife once said to me, as I was laid up in hospital from food poisoning, the day before a mission trip:

"Things to do. Places to be. Up we get. Off we go!" 

A coda on James Lawrence. 6 years after his 50-50-50 feat in 2015, he completed the "Conquer 100". 100 consecutive Ironman triathlons! Then for good measure, he did a 101st Ironman as icing on top! The record was broken just 2 years later by Sean Conway. But the record is not the point - James Lawrence set the standard. If not for him, perhaps no one would have even thought of attempting this feat of endurance.

I'm thankful for friends and family who challenge me like this, and for God who plants me amidst these people so that I may be sharpened like that. I am no ultra-endurance athlete. But I think we can all aspire to be just a little like James Lawrence and John the Baptist in our lives. To cherish the opportunity to serve; to set standards; and as God allows us - to burn, and for a time, give light for others to enjoy. 

What. A. Privilege!