“Abilities are like tax deductions, we use them or we lose them.” -Sam Jennings
At the FINISH LINE of the 2nd Bataan Death March 102Kms Ultramarathon…
Once upon a time, the animals decided they should do something meaningful to meet the problems of the new world. So they organized a school.
They adopted an activity curriculum of running, climbing, swimming, and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subjects.
The duck was excellent in swimming: in fact better than his instructor, but he made only passing grades in flying, and was very poor in running. Since he was slow in running, he had to drop swimming and stay after school to practice running. This caused his web feet to be badly worn, so that he was only average in swimming. But average was quite acceptable, so nobody worried about that -except the duck.
The rabbit started at the top of his class in running, but developed a nervous twitched in his leg muscles because of so much make-up work in swimming.
The squirrel was excellent in climbing, but he encountered constant frustration in flying class because his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of from the treetop down. He got injured from overexertion and so only got a C in climbing and a D in running.
The eagle was a problem child and was severely disciplined for being a nonconformist. In climbing classes, he beat all the others to the top of the tree, but insisted on using his own way to get there...
-Charles Swindoll, Growing Strong In The Seasons Of Life.
The obvious moral of the story is a simple one: Each creature has its own set of capabilities in which it will naturally excel – unless it is expected or forced to fill a mold that doesn’t fit. God has not made us all the same. Enjoy your own capabilities, cultivate your own style. Appreciate your friends for who they are, even though their outlook or style maybe miles different from yours.
Stop comparing yourself with other runners who can run faster than you or who can endure better than you. Don’t frown if you can’t beat your own Personal Record. Smile still even if you did not finish (DNF) a race due to an injury -it’s better than to cheat.
Rabbits don’t fly. Eagles don’t swim. Ducks look funny trying to climb. Squirrels don’t have feathers. Stop comparing!
Remember, YOU are unique.
It’s OK to be YOU! So relax.
God be Praised!
runnerforchrist 
a very nice/inspiring story!
Very well said. Speed with in running is all relative to the runner. A fast pace for you might be a slow one for another runner. Running, and being the best you can be takes a lot of time and patience, and yet, you still might not be as fast as the next runner. Run your race! Thanks for sharing this.