Running

I risked my life and almost died, but I did it! Fine. That’s a bit dramatic, but stick with me for a second. I am a runner. I have a love/hate relationship with the sport. I hate running, but I love how it makes me feel when I am done. Sometimes I’m extremely dedicated, and other times I’ll go months without hitting the pavement.

One thing I really hate is running in the rain, so usually I avoid it at all costs. I’m not sure this is accurate where you live, but in Mathews, Virginia I feel like it has rained every single day for a month! Yesterday it snowed and today we’re supposed to get sleet and freezing rain. I was hoping to get a run in this morning, but there seemed no possible way. Yet I had this overwhelming desire, despite the fact I could see rain falling from the sky.

In a temporary moment of insanity, I geared up and hit the road. I kept my head down so the rain wouldn’t pelt me in the face, but also so I could see the slippery spots on the road. Dodging the ice patches, my feet hit the pavement and my mind began to wander.

The Lord often teaches me life lessons when I run. I was thinking about the icy patches I was trying to avoid. It was so tempting to slosh through the slush. But that may have brought me a whole host of other problems. On the path of life there are often slippery slopes we should try to avoid. Sometimes though, there are difficult situations that we can’t avoid. They sneak up and smack us in the face, much like the rain that was soaking me. I found myself picking up my pace, just wanting to be done and back inside, which reminded me that when life is hard, it’s important to just keep going. It sounds so simple and obvious, but sometimes situations feel so overwhelming it’s difficult to put one foot in front of the other.

Slam in the middle of these thoughts, a hunk of snow dropped out of a tree, bonking me on the head and snapping me back to reality. I should go home. This is dangerous. I could die out here, or at the very least, slip and break a hip! I had to take a different route today, because much of my usual route was covered in snow. A normal run for me is about three miles. As I glanced at my watch to see how far I had gone, I was shocked to see I was about to hit the five mile mark! Thank you, God, for reminding me the path I take matters. Help me to put my feet on Your Solid Ground.