Running

The sky being painted as the first glimpses of sunlight pierce the fading darkness creating a beautiful display of color. The rhythm of feet pounding on the pavement while crunching through piles of leaves.  The birds singing their morning song. The crispness of fall air.  My heart full of wonder at the details of His creation as one foot steps in front of the other. No time for toes to stay curled beneath favorite blankets. There is a race to run, 26. 2 miles to cover in just a few short weeks, and all of these shorter runs are just practice, small trials for the bigger one. I'm learning how to pace, how to hydrate, to manage time- who has time to go practice 14 miles?? or wants to?? Learning how to push through even when everything in me wants to quit, and when I want to quit I think of the end goal, and press on. Running- if you know me, you know I weirdly love it. But one of the reasons I love it so much is because God uses it, to remind me of Him, to teach me- sometimes I pound it out alone, sometimes with a friend who encourages along the way. He has me in training, for a bigger race. His race, and it's not a 5k sprint. It's a marathon. He uses the small trials and the bigger ones that seem too much to handle- to train, to work on our faith muscles. There are moments when we can rejoice that we have turned to Him sooner and we can see the way He is renewing our minds. (just like when 7 miles seems like a piece of cake).  We can also rejoice when His grace is sufficient in our weaknesses, when we question and wonder why (like the day after a 7 miler when 4 miles seems like it could break you but you press on). We press on laying aside every weight and sin which clings so closely to run with endurance the race set before us. Each of our races look different, uniquely tailored by Him. Sometimes our greatest need for the moment is to pour our hearts out to Him  (running alone), and other times we walk with others, bearing each others burdens as He uses them to speak truth into our hearts (running with others).