Yesterday I did a workout that did not go terribly, but the
workout was just frustrating for many reasons. This was by no stretch of the imagination a good workout. (For the non-runners, workout means a harder
effort, usually intervals with timed rest.) This was my first workout where I
was slightly off pace in months. Nothing terrible happened. I am healthy, not injured, and it was just one workout. Some of the conditions were not ideal but
that’s often the case. When I type this out, having one workout off pace seemed
like no big deal, but at the time it was frustrating. Very frustrating and can
have a big affect on my confidence.
Flashback to the week prior. I was having some soreness in
my hip, gluts, and calf. The soreness turned out to be no big deal. I got
treatment on theses areas, ran easy for a few days, and I was as good as new!
However, when the soreness happened, and I had a minor (or maybe major) panic,
I had the thought “just so I am not hurt and can run and I’ll be happy.” Well, I
turned out I’m not hurt. When I had the bad workout, I should have thought “I
am not injured, I should be glad I can do a workout next week and am healthy.”
Should have are the key words. “How quickly I forget” is the main theme. I
forget that I should be thankful I can run and could get up today and do a long
run, and can do more workouts next week. My memory is short, and I get lost in
the moment. I get caught up in the now.
Reflecting back on this workout later in the day reminded me
“how quickly I forget” in my relationship with God. I want God to give me what
I think is best which means I forget that God knows what I need more than I
know what I need. I get nervous others will judge me for some of the decisions
I make. The Psalms are a great place to turn to in the Bible to be reminded of
God’s faithful, and the reminder that we can cry out to God when we need Him.
David does this in many of the Psalms. Psalm 124:8 says, “Our
help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Holy Bible, ESV). Just
read the Psalms and you will see this theme. Psalm 121 is another great one on
this topic: http://bg4.me/PHEV9n.
Yesterday afternoon, I had a short run. Before my run I sat
in my car and read Psalm 1. I started my run by listening to Chris Tomlin’s
song “All to us.” One verse in this song says “We are waiting on you Jesus, we
believe you are all to us…..Let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our
lives.” As I listened to these words, I was reminded of Jesus’ love for me. I
kept running and reflecting, listening to “Amazing Grace and Shout to the
Lord.” Before I knew it, I had finished my 4 mile run, and was feeling better
about life. My relationship with God was back in focus. (It’s amazing what a
good run can do for the body and mind.)
Throughout the Bible, God constantly shows His faithful to His people even though humans constantly fall back into sin. I say this often
in my blog posts because I need to be reminded about this truth. God brought
the Israelites out of Egypt. He brought His people a savior and the ultimate
King. God kept His promises. I know He will do the same for me.
My life is complicated and messy, just like many of you may
experience in your life. I have stressful situations to manage too. Having a
relationship with God, and believing Jesus came to save the world from our
sinful nature, does not make life easy. I experience pain and suffering too. However,
as the pastor of our church in Boston always said, I need to preach the Gospel to
myself. Yesterday and today, I have reflected back on God’s faithful and my
ultimate goal in life. I hope to race well in my next big race. I have trained
hard, and I’d like the training to pay off, but for today I am going to live in
the present. I am going to strive to enjoy each run and each workout. I hope to
turn to Christ each day and be reminded of His love for us. To go back to the
words of Tomlin’s song “Let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our
lives.”
