Recovered In Christ

April 23, 2015

Running hurts me. And I don’t just mean that my muscles get sore and I get all out of breath  – that’s all true. But it’s more than that for me. It FEELS exceptionally painful for me. I feel like I am going to collapse in a heap of failure halfway up even a baby hill. Don’t get me wrong, I love to run. Like – I really love to run. Ever since I was 12 years old living in a tiny town in British Columbia, running made me feel I could escape the terrible fear and chaos I lived in – and for those moments that I was racing through the streets or the park, it was a real escape. And not just as a distraction or a quick hit of endorphins. There is something about racing with the wind, feeling your feet hitting the ground, pushing yourself that makes you – real. It strips away all of the titles, personas and masks that make up most of what we present to the world. Even if the effects are temporary.

I no longer run to feel “real” or “free” – as God has produced those things for me without any involvement of my sneakers! But I still love to race the wind and just be with me – Layla, the last person I ever thought I could be alone with.

The only down side to my taking up running again is all of the “advice” I seem to get from people lately. And it usually comes from people who….(ready!!)…..don’t run!! Or who have a cigarette dangling from their lips telling me how to run, people who haven’t lifted a finger working out in years giving me strict guidelines on what I should and shouldn’t be doing..lol!

I’ll tell you something, all of the well intentioned rambling advice doesn’t compare with one word of real experience that someone shares with me.

Case in point, I was at an all time low the other day huffing and puffing my way into the end of a run, all of the voices in my head agreeing with my muscles – cheering me to stop and double over at a nearby bench. All of the “good advice” and one liner opinions of others didn’t even make it into the horizon of my mind.

But then I saw another runner coming towards me – she’s seen me before in the neighborhood, painfully building up my endurance over the last 4 months, she saw my run turn into a trot on its way to fizzling right out, and as she passed me, she made a u-turn and started running with me saying “Keep Going Mamma”.

3 words. That was it. That and the u-turn. I not only picked up my speed and continued to run with her, I immediately stopped listening to the voices in my mind tearing me down. It was just 3 words, but coming from someone who was IN IT WITH ME made all of the difference in the world!

So how does this relate to the spiritual path we’re walking on friends? I think it relates big time. I can’t tell you how many “well meaning” people are constantly spouting off advice, opinions and lectures, based on something they read, or a treatment center title they’ve received. And it has no real impact on anyone.

If you really want to have an impact, and be genuinely helpful, you first need to be doing what you are advising. Did you hear that?

You need to practice what you preach. You need to be in it. Not waiting on the sidelines ready to give advice. You need to get in the race yourself and be willing to make a u-turn for someone.

“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12