I Run: A Reflection-Goal 1

I run. I ran. I keep running. Life is a string of moments in training. My life is simple compared to some, but filled with more meaning and purpose than others. I don't drive to work every day. I drive the wheel of a house in constant need of attention. I don't save lives, but I do mold them, and pray every day that I make the right decisions--that I teach them to make the right choices. I don't attend a million meetings or answer a million phone calls, but I do attend to every cry for help and answer every question I can. I don't have a place I go every day to serve other people, I am serving generations to come by investing in my children. If I can teach them to serve, then I have touched many. These are the things of which I remind myself when the days run together from one load of laundry to the next and every now and then I wish she wouldn't say "Mommy" so many times in a row. But then I remind myself that one day she may not say "Mommy" quite so much anymore, and the heart aches again, and I remember, take a deep breath, and keep going. Keep running.

I run for many reasons. I reached my first goal this past Saturday morning by completing a 5K race in 31 minutes 45 seconds! This was MUCH faster than I have EVER run in any of my training. I was amazed. I was speechless as I willed my feet up that last steep hill toward the finish line. I was overcome with emotion as I thought about four months ago and the panting and heaving that took place after only three minutes of running. I was deeply grateful to my Lord for sticking by me. I could feel Him running with me. I could hear His voice on that uphill climb as my heart was beating out of my chest at the pace I was keeping, "Keep going! You can do this! I'm right here." I'm not sure I have the words to tell you how I feel.

So I keep running. It's not just a health goal anymore; it's a life lesson. The daily perseverance it takes to stick to a training program is the daily perseverance it takes to live this life for the Lord. To raise Godly children. To be a respectful wife. To adore my God as Father and be His good child. IT'S NOT EASY. There are days I fall short--I don't run. There are days I get sick--I don't run. There are days--I just don't want to keep going. Does any of this sound familiar? Satan is blinding and binding this generation with the lie that life can be easy--that hard work isn't necessary--that delayed gratification brings nothing more than a delay. LIES! All lies. I watch my younger brothers and sisters in Christ struggle. I wonder what the future holds for my children. I pray daily that they will learn to run. Not walk, not lolly-gag, not meander, but run.

To beat Satan in this world you can't window shop for his wares. This generation doesn't have the leisure of playing with fire and not getting burned because there is no fire anymore. Satan has wrapped everything in media-filled packages of light and warmth and ease. On the side of the box of his toys the advertising reads: "Do what you want when you want how you want." "No work required." "Difficulties not included." And people are buying and buying and buying and drowning and drowning and drowning in their own misery because the way of the Cross is narrow and hard and filled with self-sacrifice.

But OH! The fullness of purpose, the peace of knowing, the joy of life really lived! The wares our Lord sells have NO PRICE. So we don't understand them. We can't put a number of value to them, so we shy away from what we can't be sure of. We can't confine His ways in earthly time, so we pass it up for something we can schedule, wrap our brain around, and write in our calendars. Why is it that just because we can't quantify something, we believe it has no value? When more often than not, the things that have eternal value often cannot be quantified--their quality, their pricelessness is what makes them more valuable than a number can label.

These are the things I ponder as I run. These are the musings of my brain as I fold laundry and change diapers. When another day passes by, and I feel like I have made no progress, I remember that every little moment counts, just like every little minute of time ran over the past four months added up to a successful 3.1 miles run. Equaled a pant size and a half lost. Equals 15 pounds of weight I no longer carry. Equals hope for future accomplishments. If just a minute, an added 30 seconds a day over just four months of time can equal this, what will a decade of moments spent training my children, pointing them to God's word through prayer over a meal or a Bible story at bedtime, faithfully disciplining and teaching the importance of obedience, and talking every day about God and this wonderful world He has made for them--what will all these tiny moments add up to? How will God use my children? Only time will tell.

And so I run. I show them that every day, though seemingly monotonous and routine on the surface, serves a greater long-term purpose in God's plan. That sticking to a plan, no matter how long it takes, will accomplish great goals. I'm only 1 mile away after all in my training from running a 10K...6.2 miles! Who would have thought? So my encouragement? Keep running. Keep reading God's word. Keep doing whatever the 'next thing' it is that God has set before you. Keep going, keep persevering, then after a good amount of time has passed, stop...look back, reflect...and see what the Lord has done. My guess is that it will surprise and overwhelm you with gratefulness. Just keep running.

So I am thankful...my heart is full of thanks:
1. For a God who runs with me.
2. For a husband who runs with us both.
3. For an inheritance of generations of God-seeking family.
4. That God chose to bless me with one girl and one boy--to continue the generations of His blessing.
5. That my daffodils bloom every spring with bowed yellow heads to the sun.