Many thoughts flooded my mind as I was getting on my gear for my morning run. It is cold and slightly windy which makes for really nice running weather. I wondered if getting on all the foundational gear was important for today. I was just going for a 2.25 mile pace run that would take about 22 minutes. Was it really necessary to wear the compression shorts and the athletic belt under the running pants? Weren't the long pants and long sleeved shirt enough to keep things in place?
A glance at myself in the mirror-the dreaded side view-my frame greatly smoothed out and back well supported by both the shorts and belt. Attempting to remove anything before applying the glide stick would be futile at this point and using up energy before my run could ensure that my silent exhale prayers would become loud cries for help!
Wisely, I keep on all my gear and begin to stretch. I have to stretch to prevent injury and prepare my body for what is ahead. Slowly stretching my legs and arms out I also pray for the strength and endurance to finish the run. I move and start to feel some resistance from my body...almost like my muscles begin to remember what is about to happen and in not-so-silent protest tighten up while I deepen the stretches and breathe through it.
Stretching my body to get ready for a run is always slightly painful and I have to keep moving slowly until my muscles respond and I can move without pain or resistance. If I decide to run before my body has been stretched I risk getting hurt or having great trouble finishing my run well.
At times, especially when I train regularly, I just throw on my shoes and run as fast as I can. Letting my body warm up as I approach the second mile... and inevitably end up in serious back pain a few hours later. I overestimate what my body run today because of what I have run in the past. Sometimes I forget that it took several months and discipline to train up to marathon shape and that the marathon was in 2010.
My faith journey has been a lot like my running. Sometimes I just want to have instant faith to follow hard after God without the necessary stretching that is required to grow my faith. At the beginning of our adoptive journey, I trusted God to accomplish whatever His Will was for us and our family. I knew it wasn't about me or my abilities. Forgetting that I would be with Him and that my faith wasn't where it needed to be to truly be on mission with Him. I started out this marathon adoptive journey my way, in a sprint with a few after thought prayers...and I got seriously injured. For a while, it even began to look like we'd gotten the message wrong and that God wasn't actually asking us to adopt Hudson.
I skipped the important faith stretching before I took off in a sprint. Now, as we are preparing to travel to consummate our adoption in the next few months, I understand why our adoptive journey has taken the time that it has and how the long and often uphill runs were necessary to stretch and grow my faith.
There are many ways to grow and stretch your faith while on journey with God. He used this adoption to remove my pride of self and to grow my small faith into more of what He has always planned for me to be...faithful, dependent on and running with Him for His glory and my blessing.
This morning as I completed my morning run-further and in less time I had planned I was thankful I had stretched out my body and even more grateful for God's faith stretchers.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
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