What the Finish Line Represents

There is something special about a finish line.
On October 4, we'll watch so many individual stories make their way toward ours at the CleftStrong 5K & Kids 1K. Some will run, some will walk, and some will simply be proud they showed up and started.  The finish line won't tell us how difficult someone's miles were. It won't show the hills, the doubts, or the moments they wanted to stop.  It will show us something else: They believed they could keep going--and then they did.

Choosing Confidence
In our last Behind the Miles, we talked about what confidence really is. But there's another part of confidence I think is equally important: At some point, we have to choose it.  Believing “I can” isn't only something we say. It begins to show in how we live—in our choices, our willingness to try, our ability to follow through, and our decision to keep moving when something is hard.

For children navigating a cleft or craniofacial journey, there can be plenty of hard miles: appointments, surgeries, therapies, changes, uncertainty, and sometimes simply being tired of having another challenge to overcome.  Those challenges are real. But we don't want our children to begin believing:

If this hadn't happened to me, then I could be confident.
If I looked different, then I could...
If things were easier, then I would...

That kind of thinking can quietly keep any of us stuck—waiting for our circumstances to change before we believe we're capable of moving forward... or even find happiness.

Be Careful What You Believe 
Our circumstances are part of our story, and every challenge holds an opportunity to build character, strength, and confidence. We may not choose every circumstance, but we can choose how we see it, how we respond to it, and whether we allow God to use it to help shape who we are becoming.  And when our thoughts tell us I'm not good enough. I can't do this. I've failed. I'll never be able to... we can always remember that this is not how God speaks about His children.

God tells us we are wonderfully made, loved, created with purpose, and His workmanship. The enemy would love to take “this is hard” and turn it into “I can't.”  Confidence asks us to challenge that thought and take the next step anyway. This is the kind of confidence we want to make sticky—the belief in who we are, what we're capable of, and what God says about us. Not the circumstance we wish were different, but the strength, character, and confidence we choose to carry forward because of it.

What the Finish Line Represents (a personal reflection and more)
Maybe that's what I visualize when I think about this year's finish line, although mine looks a little different. As Race Director, my race-day start and finish aren't about crossing the line after 3.1 miles. They represent seeing months of planning, hard work, challenges, prayers, and so many people coming together for a purpose finally unfold. There is always a very meaningful beginning and ending to that day for me.

And maybe that's part of the lesson.  There will always be obstacles ready to get in the way -- we don't get to choose all of them.  But we do get to choose what we allow to stick. I want the confidence to stick and not the hardships or circumstances I wish had gone differently.  I want to always remember that God is always working, and the next step is mine to take.

That's the kind of sticky confidence I want for our children, too.  Not confidence because everything went their way, but confidence that remains even when it doesn't.  

So, what do you visualize for your finish line this year?  What obstacles might try to get in the way -- and, when you reach the "other side", what do you want to be the thing that sticks?

Every mile has meaning. And sometimes crossing the finish line begins long before race day—with choosing to believe you can -- and then following through come what may.

Always cheering you on,
Chelsea Ortiz
B.S. Early Childhood Education
Certified Children's Mindset Coach
Founder, CleftStrong | Founder, The Owl's Haven