That Others May Run

by Marcia Lee Laycock

“Stop thinking of yourself as a single unit.” Our coach leaned forward, her voice raises above the cheering of the crowds, her eyes flicking from one girl to the next. “It’s all about the team,” she said. “When that baton leaves your hand your job is to cheer your team-mate on.”

Right. That’s what it was all about. We were on a relay team and the point was to get that baton into our team-mates hands so they could run with it all the way to the finish line.

I thought of that day, long ago, when I read the words in Habakkuk 2:2 - “write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it” (NKJV).

It came to mind again a while ago when I received a message from someone thanking me for something I’d written. Usually I make a point of asking where they read the piece and sometimes, as on this day, I’m surprised. The woman told me a friend had seen it on someone’s website, copied it and sent it to her by email. This wasn’t the first time this had happened. The world wide web is just that and the words we put out there are sometimes spread around without our knowledge nor consent. That used to bother me. My work is copyrighted – no one has the right to just grab it and run with it.

Then I remembered my coach’s words and the words God spoke to Habakkuk long ago.

Oh. Right. That’s what this is all about, really. I’m writing so that others will take my words to heart and then share them with others. The words aren’t meant to be just pretty decorations on a page that will bring me satisfaction and praise. They are meant to help others, to change lives, to draw people closer to the One who inspired them. I want my readers to “run” with my words – to live a life of joy in service to the Lord and to pass that on to those around them so they can run with them too, all the way to the finish line.

So now, when someone emails to tell me they’ve read my work on someone’s website or blog or in an email, I cheer them on. I’m glad they’re running with it.

That’s what it’s all about, really.

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Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was short listed in The Word Awards. Marcia also has two devotional books in print and has contributed to several anthologies. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan.

Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded here.

Marcia recently released Book Two in a fantasy series, The Ambassadors

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