What I Learned from Running

There are always a few things that a married couple do not have in common. I've taken Nicole to the Opera, but I certainly don't share that interest. Nicole has taken me to sporting events (the Verlander no-hitter one Anniversary, and Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals {Go Wings!!} this year), but she really isn't interested in sports. Another passion of mine that doesn't make any sense to Nicole is running. Her theory is, if something isn't chasing me, why am I running?

I started running when I was in the 7th grade; I played football in 5th and 6th grade; but I was one of the shortest, and easily the skinniest kid in my grade; naturally, I turned to cross-country. I eventually came to love the idea of competing man vs. man in a test of endurance and will. I know I wasn't the fastest guy on the course, but I also knew that it was entirely up to me how hard I was willing to run, whether or not I was willing to outwork the guy running next to me. There's just something about the purity of that sort of competition that appeals to me.

So why do I run now? After running for Cornerstone University my knees were more or less shot and I've never been able to run enough to compete at a high level since. So why do I keep running? Even without the competition against someone else, there's still the self-discipline that comes from pushing yourself against whatever you can achieve, pushing up that next hill, finishing a run with a solid kick at the end.

I never run in town; lots of people do, but I don't. I run out in nature, on grass or dirt, among the trees; that's another thing that running does for me, let's me reconnect with the peace and quiet that our world lacks these days.

Anyone else see how this applies to my blog on my ministry? That same self-discipline that I need and draw upon when I run is so very necessary in both my private and public life. Marriage is a test of running the race (not sprinting, putting in the miles), it's too easy to take
the easy way out, but that's why we need to discipline ourselves.

Is it any wonder that when Paul was seeking to justify his ministry he said, "I have run the race"; it's time we as Christians started running the race like people who want to win it.