Today was an auspicious occasion. Today I did something that, not only did I spend 40 years thinking I'd never do, but something that I only decided to work toward last week.
I RAN ONE FULL MILE!!!
This is what I looked like when I got back home (scary, not pretty, but important to my self-esteem):
There it is: my own personal trophy of sweat, stink, and fogged up glasses. It may as well be a gold cup!
The whole time I was out jogging this morning (all 18 minutes...I know, a long time for a mile, but come on! It was a flippin' MILE!), I kept thinking, 1) can I make it? and 2) just a little bit further - I can see the halfway point...the finish!" It reminded me, of course, how we experience the same thing in our walk with God.
Paul told the early Christians in Philippi: "I can do all things through [Christ] who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). This from a man who was brutally persecuted, stoned to death three times (yes, he came back - if God ain't finished with you, you're not going anywhere!), and, when he wrote this, he was in prison, actually chained to a Roman guard. Even in those circumstances, he knew that God had promised to be with him until the end, and so it didn't matter whether he had plenty or nothing, whether he was warm or cold, or even whether he lived or died. He just kept taking things moment by moment, step by step, secure in His union with the Father and his place in God's Kingdom. Just like Abraham saw a "city whose architect and builder was God", so Paul saw the same city, and kept pounding toward it.
Don't stone me for blasphemy, but I really don't think God is too concerned over whether I run a mile or not. In the grand scheme of things, I don't know how that fits in or even if it's supposed to. I highly doubt it. What I do know is that we come across some pretty tough situations - name your own! In those situations, we start wondering if we're going to make it, or if we'll just collapse of sheer exhaustion before we get to the end of it. In those moments, let's remember that 1) Christ strengthens us in everything he calls us to do, and 2) the finish line is just around that corner...
I have two days of cross-training and then a rest day to enjoy. After that, I continue my mile run for two days until I increase it again. By that time, the mile will be old hat and I'll be ready for a new challenge! Hmmm, I think there's something spiritual in that idea, too!
Free Calorie Counter at SparkPeople.com
No comments:
Post a Comment