To Run the Race and to Finish

To enter a race and to finish it shows a heart with courage to compete and to complete.

To run the race and finish what we start
is just as needed in the flesh and mind,
We rest when goal has been obtained and done,
We cherish vict'ry down in depths of heart,
The body lifts us, when we run in kind,
The soul exults in goals, that we have won!

At times the days are hot, at times they're cold,
But run we long with hearts so truly bold.

Is this the meaning, that we would impart
by entering a task, that is a race,
to give our world some lasting work of art
or give the self a lasting sense of place?
That both be done, together or apart
shows lasting gift to us of Godly Grace.

Line Count: 14

by Jay O'Toole
on December 2, 2016