I run…or jog…sometimes. I do not know that I would call myself a bonafide runner, but it is one of the ways I try to exercise. I used dismiss the idea of running. “I’m not a runner,” I thought. I even thought things like “I could never run a distance race.” Then I met some people, who were no super athletes, who were runners. They made it seem attainable. As I was in relationship with them and I heard their passion for running, I started to feel…inspired. I started to entertain the idea that “Maybe I could run too…”
So, I gave it a try. I don’t really like the physical exertion part of exercise, but I have found that running is a good stress relief for me and it seems to be good for my mental health. Because of that, I have come to like it…not love it, but like it. I started setting goals. I did a 5k, then a 10k, and then I tried a half marathon.
I am coming to believe that truth embodied in a relationship is more powerful than truth divorced from relationship. Here’s what I mean. I knew running was a good form of exercise back when I avoided running. I know the truth about healthy habits and choices. Knowing the truth alone did not inspire me to try running. Knowing people who were passionate about running and being inspired by their passion got me into running. In other words, being in relationship with people who lived the truth led to life change.
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Races are kind of fun. I don’t run to compete with other people (because I’m slow). I usually just try to finish and perhaps do better than I did last time. Over the last 10 years, I have done 9 races of various distances. I have a mantra that I repeat to myself sometimes. “Run your race, keep your pace.” This helps me not to focus on comparison or burning myself out trying to keep up with someone else. I just run my race. I have found this to be a good metaphor for my spiritual journey as well. I am responsible for running the race Jesus has called me to.
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The thing I love most about races is the energy of the experience. I just did a race last weekend in Fort Wayne. On one part of the route there was a cheer team from a local school out cheering us on. On another part, there was a neighborhood association that did a Christmas theme. They decorated their yards and cheered as we passed by. Towards the end there were people lined up with signs, “Keep going, you’re almost there,” “Pain is temporary, but finishing is forever,” or I saw this funny one, “Dig deeper than a kid seeking boogers.” These strangers on the side cheering you on is…powerful…emotional.
Never have I seen someone on the side of the road aggressively demanding someone run faster. I thought to myself how defeating it would be to have a drill sergeant type of “encouragement.” I thought about how I would not want to be encouraged in that sort of way. Then I thought about how so many people are running their race in life and need encouraged along the way. Like in life, each person at a race is running for different reasons, each person is in a different age and stage of life, and some have overcome different physical health challenges along the way.
It reminds of this quote by Gregory Boyle in his book Tattoos on the Heart, “Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they cary it." Maybe, as a Jesus follower, I would do well to encourage and spur other people on with uplifting affirmations than tear people down with criticisms and condemnation. Maybe some people, even people who have made a mess of their lives, would respond better to encouragement than condemnation. Perhaps, life change is even possible.
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As I ran by all the "witnesses" who were cheering me on, and all these various fragmented reflections were going through my mind, I also thought of the Hebrews verse about the cloud of witness:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…”. Hebrews 12:1
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