Branded

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to complete a Half Ironman distance triathlon. For this reason, I travelled to Key West, Florida to compete in the Bone Island Triathlon. This race consists of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run along a breathtaking section of beach. Usually I receive divine inspiration during these events and I expected to bring you a message of endurance through trials, etc. However, the biggest lesson I learned from this experience was definitely an odd one. Before a triathlon, the skin on your upper arms and above your knees is marked with your race number with a thick black sharpie marker. My number for this race was 524. Normally, the number is not that significant and I forget the number immediately after the race is finished. The radiant Key West sunlight combined with my lack of sunscreen plus 9 hours and 18 minutes of race time left me with the numbers suntanned into some very conspicuous places...think branded cow. Thank God that our Heavenly Father doesn't think of us as a number and that He knows each one of us so dearly. We are not a number to Him. This experience also has me thinking about how cautious we must be in labeling others with false labels. Some labels can bring a permanent sting with them. Remember how our beloved President Monson recently reminded us to envision people as they can become and not as they currently exist. Although we may have mentally branded people with a label, this is not how the Lord works. He has the ability to view the potential of every person. Fortunately, this ridiculous suntan of mine will eventually fade, but hopefully the lessons it teaches will always remain.

By Rachel Roark