Quote

In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.

- Coco Chanel

Real Life

At the 1983 Sydney to Melbourne ultramarathon, 61 year old potato farmer, Cliff Young, turned up to race in lightweight trousers which he had punched holes in for ventilation.

At the end of day one Young was well behind in last place with an unusual shuffling style of running. That night as everyone stopped to sleep, Young’s coach misread the alarm clock, accidentally setting it for 2am. When Young was woken the next morning, he didn’t check the time, he just got up and started running. By the end of day two, he had gone from last to first. Young decided to severely limit his sleep for the rest of the race so he could keep ticking off the miles. This unorthodox runner went on to win the 875km race in just 5 days 15 hours; 42 hours quicker than the previous record and 40 kilometres ahead of his nearest competitor.  In the years that followed, long distance runners adopted the “young shuffle” because of its energy efficiency.

Ephesian 2:10 in the bible, says that we are each God’s workmanship. God has designed us with unique attributes, some similar to others, some completely different, but all inherently valuable. When surrounded by people who seem better trained or who have fancier gear, we can doubt our own abilities and our way of doing things. We may want to assimilate and be like everyone around us, but sometimes it is an advantage to be different. Sometimes the way we do things is exactly the way that works best for us. We should always be open to learning new things, but that does not mean we should be ashamed of who we are or try to deny the way God made us. Who knows, it may actually be that that unique style of ours is the secret everyone else has been looking for.

Bible Verse

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

Prayer

Lord I thank You for the way You have made me and Your good intentions for me. Please help me not ever to be ashamed of the person you made me to be but instead, to seek Your guidance as to how You would have me use the gifts you have given me. 

Author: Sarah Auld   |   Content Editor: Phil Pawley