Beauty Is... Faithfulness | Audrey Roloff

Audrey and I have yet to meet in person, but I eagerly anticipate becoming real life friends with her. This girl is a GEM. Her heart for people and her faith inspire me. She radiates truth, love + freedom. Reading her article gave my goosebumps...multiple times. Read on ladies, and be blessed!

XO,

Kat

Beauty is faithfulness. We are quick to admire passion, but I’ve found that lasting beauty is rooted in faithfulness, which requires commitment, resilience, and perseverance.

The most beautiful marriages are the ones marked by fidelity. Passion initiates, but faithfulness finishes. To me, the finish is a more genuine depiction of beauty than the start.

Finish lines have significance in my life as a runner. In college I joined the Oregon State Cross-Country and Track team as a walk-on. I was passionate about competing collegiately at the Division I PAC 12 level, but hadn’t proven myself. I never made the state meet for track in High School, my best times were nothing to write home about, and yet in college I was hoping to compete in one of the toughest conferences in the country! The Lord brought me from nothing to something, but not without a struggle.

My collegiate running career required physical, mental, and emotional stamina. I endured stress fractures, torn ligaments, tumors, plantar fasciitis, tendonitis, a fractured back, dozens of sprained ankles, and severe stomach issues.But I was determined to come back from every injury, sickness, and setback. Each time the Lord revealed my insecurities and lack of confidence, He called me to remain faithful despite my circumstances. There was a saying I wrote on one of my bedroom walls which read,

“Be passionate to run, and faithful to race.”

By faith and perseverance, I earned a scholarship, became the team’s fastest runner, and team captain. I won races, set a few records, and competed against some worthy opponents. Even with all I was able to achieve, my successes are not what’s beautiful to me, and neither are my struggles.

People sometimes say, “the struggle is beautiful,” but I would argue that faithfulness through the struggle portrays beauty. Beauty is the story of faithfulness.

My last race in college was quite possibly my worst. I had been injured a few months prior, and only had a few weeks to train for the final race of my collegiate career. I could have easily called it quits and spared myself the embarrassment, but I chose to face it. During one of my training runs I found myself asking God three questions:

Where might He be calling me from?

How might He be calling me out?

What might He be calling me to?

I was called out, called from, and called to more. The Lord was calling me from a place of doubt, calling me out on my lack of faith, and calling me to faithfulness -- faithfulness to finish. And so I was faithful to finish my last race, the most beautiful race I’ve ever run.

“Passion initiates, faithfulness finishes.”

-Audrey Roloff

Now I live in Los Angeles, wake up at 2:45 every day for my corporate job, and this past year I broke one of the bones in my foot. Admittedly, my faithfulness to running has been dormant. But recently the Lord has called me from this dormancy, called me out on my priorities, and called me to run. So for the first time in almost a year I’m running every day. It’s not pretty, but I’m faithful. And in three months I will race.

XO,

Audrey