Running Again - Part 2

(Find the prequel here)

I had been so stuck that I had begun to lose hope that running, or any athletic activity for that matter, could have a place in my future. Last summer I was riding a four wheeler at the pumpkin patch with no helmet (I know, that's bad) and I could feel the wind in my hair. I remember chuckling to myself and thinking, "Well, even if I never run fast again, at least I know how to get this fast feeling again."

I also remember asking God if I could run in heaven. If I could just run for ever and a day, over fields and mountains, and never hurt.

Then one day last December God pointed out to me that I didn't know how to rest. I know, running and rest seem fairly unrelated, but stick with me here. As I went on the journey that has been well-documented on this blog, I began to make changes in my lifestyle. Not because I was trying harder and setting firmer goals, but because I was choosing to wait in God, and He was giving me direction one step at a time. And one step at a time, I began to change. In a season of fasting from all the things I turn to for escape when I'm tired, frustrated, confused, weary. . . Fasting from distractions in order to pursue the Lord with my whole heart.

In that season, as you well know if you've been a reader for the past 6 months, I discovered that I used food as an emotional outlet. When I quit turning to food to cheer me up, I began to shed a few unwanted pounds. When I shed a few pounds, I felt better. I began to get out for walks more often. And on one of my walks, I jogged a block or two. And it didn't hurt.

For the first time in several years, it didn't hurt. So I did it again a few days later. Then I got serious, went to the running store and got myself some real running shoes so I didn't injure myself. And one day when I was out running, just after complaining to God about the difficulty of the season of pruning He had me in, I realized that it was the very pruning I resisted that enabled me to do what I desired to do.

Let me say that again: It was the very pruning I was resisting that enabled me to do what I desired to do.

Running, which continues to be a healthy outlet for me, was given to me as a gift by my Father God who heard my prayer, barely breathed, "God, I want to run."

To be concluded soon. . .