I (Rusty) am a runner. I guess I am just one of those weird people that can say I like to run. But running has become more than just exercise to me. I get up every morning and take my black lab, Rebel, out to the trails to run. Those trails have become my sanctuary. My place to really connect with God.
Some mornings, especially lately, the trails have been too wet and muddy to run. I have found an alternate route around the trails that keeps me on some gravel. At least for the most part. Rebel, on the other hand, doesn't stay on the gravel. He doesn't care.
Today I was missing the trails, so I decided to run them no matter their condition. It didn't take long for me to realize that it wasn't going to be pretty. The trails were a mess. I started the run with great intentions of avoiding the messiest spots. I would approach some really wet areas, and would attempt to jump or even tip-toe around them. I even went a completely different path at one time to avoid an area that I knew from experience would be really bad.
By the time I got around 2 miles into my run I realized that I really had 2 options: turn around and go back where I came from, or just run straight through the mess. I am a boy, so of course I chose the latter. You know what? It felt good to just let go and run through the mess. I got pretty wet and muddy, but I was glad I accomplished this morning's run.
As I talked with God while running through the mud, he reminded me of how we like to avoid the messiness of life. We often tip-toe around it, try to jump over it, or even turn around and try to miss it all together. Life is messy. Sin makes life messy. But sometimes we have to run straight through the mess to come out on the other side of it.
We've run straight through the mess, and are really glad we were willing:
http://pinelake.org/stories/avoiding-glances/
Rusty
No comments:
Post a Comment