"May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ."
2 Thessalonians 3:5
This week in my jogging journey, I had a day of triumph, followed by a day of failure. I started a new week in my 5k training program and my running time increased. So far, I've typically spent more time walking than running, building up my endurance and muscles, but for the first time ever, my walking and running times were going to be about equal.
I'm going to take a moment to give myself a little credit for my first day running this week. My mile pace was 13:25. I walk/jogged for 30 minutes, and 16 of those minutes were jogging. I was so excited! It was tough, but I made it!
But, then came Day 2.
I usually run right around sunrise, mostly because I need to go before my husband goes to work, but also because it's cooler in the day. On this particular day, I ran two hours later, when the sun was well in the sky and it was considerably warmer than what's normal for me. I didn't expect the heat to make such a difference, but it did.
So much so, I had to quit my jog four minutes early.
I hadn't hydrated well enough and had to stop, go home, and get water.
I usually walk/jog around 2.3 miles and had to quit at 1.6. I had actually increased my pace by over a minute, (12:28!) but all I could think about was that I quit.
It may not seem like that big of a deal, but it was so discouraging to me. I know everyone has their off days, and I know I was running in heat I wasn't used to, but I've always pushed through and made it to the end.
So this is where the fear creeps in.
"Am I even going to be able to finish a 5k?"
"Am I just destined to not really be a runner?"
"Should I go ahead and quit completely now while I'm ahead?"
While thinking on all of this, I felt God lay on my heart a connection between my jogging journey and my present journey in life with friendships.
It wasn't too long ago that I felt as if I failed at friendships and instead of following 2 Thessalonians 3:5 and letting the Lord lead my heart into an understanding of the love of God, I quit. I built a wall around myself and shut down the outgoing personality I used to have just eight years ago. I refused to reach out and kept to myself, because if I didn't have to truly open up to anyone, I wouldn't get hurt.
But being alone gets lonely after awhile.
It wasn't long before my loneliness led me to reach out to the Lord and I began to practice the patient endurance that comes from Christ that 2 Thessalonians 3:5 speaks about. I prayed for God to improve me from the inside out, to seek His Will first and to show me my worth from His perspective, instead of the world's perspective. Through much Bible study and yes, patient endurance, I have made progress.
And I've also been blessed with beautiful friendships.
This is why I'll put my running shoes back on and go out again Monday.
Quitting something God has called me to do is not an option.
Even on the days when I feel like I can't do it, I have faith that the Lord will help me. He will remind me of the patient endurance that only comes from Him.
Not just in running, but in life.
Comments
Post a Comment