Two days ago, I left the flat to go on a walk at the same time my roommate Nicole left to go on a run. After stretching with Nicole, I decided to join her and run as well. She set a great pace and I did well enough to keep up with her, only stopping to walk up two of the inclines of the path. I felt good the whole run and found that I was breathing and moving with relative ease and confidence. Right then, Nicole and I decided that we would be running buddies for the rest of our time here in England.
Today, Nicole and I went running again. Today was nothing like Saturday. Almost a minute after starting to run, I knew I was going to struggle to make it to the end. Although our pace was the same, I found it harder to keep up and push through all the inclines that the path included. As I was struggling, I realized something. Running is a perfect analogy to living life and following Jesus.
For one, some days are harder than others. Saturday was a good day- one in which I felt energized and strong. Today was a not so good day- one in which I felt slow and weak. I find this same trend in my spiritual walk with the Lord. One day I can feel like my relationship with the Lord is improving and strengthening. However, the next I can feel as if I'm taking strides backwards in my relationship with Him, creating great distance between us.
Secondly, life and faith consists of many inclines and declines, just like the path Nicole and I have started running on. The inclines are by far the hardest to push through while the declines are a breeze. In life, challenges, or inclines, come our way that are difficult to overcome. In our faith, these challenges prove to be the most powerful times of growth in our walks with God. Often times, we find every excuse to stop and rest. We will do anything to distract ourselves from or postpone facing the challenge ahead. We know that getting to the top will take our energy and commitment, which we are often unwilling to sacrifice. During the months leading up to my departure from the States, I was on an incline. For the longest time, I had been walking it and making stops along the way. However, when I finally realized where I was on that incline as opposed to where I wanted to be, I sprinted as fast as I could to the top. And now here I am. Feeling refreshed and renewed and ready to keep running. Life also consists of falls, or declines. Running down hill is extremely easy and it can be done with great speed. When we fall, we generally fall fast. When looking out our spiritual lives, these falls occur because we turn our eyes away from God and we begin to sink into the temptations of sin. It's not until we refocus our eyes and our hearts on the Lord that we begin a new uphill battle. Lastly, in life, there are plateaus, or flat stretches of land. In terms of running, these flat stretches test our endurance. This is true in life. The plateaus we experience test our perseverance and our endurance in our faith. It tests our patience and trust in the Lord. We have to trust that He is with us, providing us with the strength and motivation to keep running. We have to trust that something else will come along that forces us to grow and become more like the men and women God has always intended us to be.
Lastly, much like running, life is better when you do it with someone else. Like I said earlier, life is hard. However, having people around you to support you and push you can help make life more doable. I enjoy running with Nicole because she runs at a pace that I'm comfortable with but she also motivates me to push through the steepest inclines of the path. If she wasn't there with me, chances are I would walk at every incline that came my way. The same can be said for life. My friends and family are my greatest support system. They are not afraid to push me, encourage me and keep me accountable through the challenges I face. They are always there to pick me up when I fall and to get me running again. They are my biggest fans when I succeed and my greatest comforters when I fail. Life, as well as running, would look a lot more like walking without my friends, family and running buddy.
Hebrews 12:1-2
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
It's so amazing to think that the last few months I had before coming to England are really shaping the lessons I'm learning now. I find it funny that the Lord used running to get my attention and talk to me today. I was running at home before this but He waited until now to share this with me. It's possible that this physical displacement and distance from home has provided a new perspective or that it has caused me to pay more attention. Whatever it is, I am thankful for lessons like the one above. The Lord is encouraging me to keep running despite the inclines in my recent past. He is giving me a loving nudge to press on.
Here's to pressing on!
Cheers!
Today, Nicole and I went running again. Today was nothing like Saturday. Almost a minute after starting to run, I knew I was going to struggle to make it to the end. Although our pace was the same, I found it harder to keep up and push through all the inclines that the path included. As I was struggling, I realized something. Running is a perfect analogy to living life and following Jesus.
For one, some days are harder than others. Saturday was a good day- one in which I felt energized and strong. Today was a not so good day- one in which I felt slow and weak. I find this same trend in my spiritual walk with the Lord. One day I can feel like my relationship with the Lord is improving and strengthening. However, the next I can feel as if I'm taking strides backwards in my relationship with Him, creating great distance between us.
Secondly, life and faith consists of many inclines and declines, just like the path Nicole and I have started running on. The inclines are by far the hardest to push through while the declines are a breeze. In life, challenges, or inclines, come our way that are difficult to overcome. In our faith, these challenges prove to be the most powerful times of growth in our walks with God. Often times, we find every excuse to stop and rest. We will do anything to distract ourselves from or postpone facing the challenge ahead. We know that getting to the top will take our energy and commitment, which we are often unwilling to sacrifice. During the months leading up to my departure from the States, I was on an incline. For the longest time, I had been walking it and making stops along the way. However, when I finally realized where I was on that incline as opposed to where I wanted to be, I sprinted as fast as I could to the top. And now here I am. Feeling refreshed and renewed and ready to keep running. Life also consists of falls, or declines. Running down hill is extremely easy and it can be done with great speed. When we fall, we generally fall fast. When looking out our spiritual lives, these falls occur because we turn our eyes away from God and we begin to sink into the temptations of sin. It's not until we refocus our eyes and our hearts on the Lord that we begin a new uphill battle. Lastly, in life, there are plateaus, or flat stretches of land. In terms of running, these flat stretches test our endurance. This is true in life. The plateaus we experience test our perseverance and our endurance in our faith. It tests our patience and trust in the Lord. We have to trust that He is with us, providing us with the strength and motivation to keep running. We have to trust that something else will come along that forces us to grow and become more like the men and women God has always intended us to be.
Lastly, much like running, life is better when you do it with someone else. Like I said earlier, life is hard. However, having people around you to support you and push you can help make life more doable. I enjoy running with Nicole because she runs at a pace that I'm comfortable with but she also motivates me to push through the steepest inclines of the path. If she wasn't there with me, chances are I would walk at every incline that came my way. The same can be said for life. My friends and family are my greatest support system. They are not afraid to push me, encourage me and keep me accountable through the challenges I face. They are always there to pick me up when I fall and to get me running again. They are my biggest fans when I succeed and my greatest comforters when I fail. Life, as well as running, would look a lot more like walking without my friends, family and running buddy.
Hebrews 12:1-2
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
It's so amazing to think that the last few months I had before coming to England are really shaping the lessons I'm learning now. I find it funny that the Lord used running to get my attention and talk to me today. I was running at home before this but He waited until now to share this with me. It's possible that this physical displacement and distance from home has provided a new perspective or that it has caused me to pay more attention. Whatever it is, I am thankful for lessons like the one above. The Lord is encouraging me to keep running despite the inclines in my recent past. He is giving me a loving nudge to press on.
Here's to pressing on!
Cheers!