Silencing the Noise

I am a RUNNER.

Don't I sound so very self-assured and confident.....?

Well, I'm not.

Actually ~ right now,

I am just a jogger

and that may be stretching it a bit.


Let me first start out by telling you that I'm not used to putting my mug out there for everyone to see.
I'd rather find myself behind the camera instead of in front of it whenever possible.
But I needed to make a statement and be accountable for the journey I'm embarking on.
I need YOU to hold me accountable, too. 

I used to run 3-4 miles every other day and loved every minute of it.

I'd lace up my shoes and head out the minute I got home from work.
Rain or shine.
Hot or cold.

Down the road, turn left and around the sparkling, deep blue bay of the lake I used to live on.

When I got home, I felt 

tired but refreshed.

Tired but energized.

Tired but healthy.

That was six years ago.

That was a few pounds ago, too.

That was history.

With a closet full of clothes that have become a little tight and unflattering,
and the fact that my favorite jeans ~
the faded ones with the low-slung waist and absolutely perfect flares ~
don't fit well any more,

I'm making history happen once again.

 I'm picking up what I abandoned so many years ago.

I am running.


 

Yes, I have to start back slowly.

Doing the power walk/jog combo for now.

Gasping for breath after the first quarter mile.

Striding up the big hills that loom before me and

running down the other side.

Aware of the aches and pains that come with age,

I push through them.
I keep my eye on the prize.

I am running.

The difference this time is that I start each run with a prayer.

I lift up this aging, jiggly, unfit body to God

and asking him to use it for his glory.

It's his temple, after all.

I need to care for it because he made it.

He made me.

He created me healthy ~

and I made me unhealthy.

Noise isn't only something audible.
It can be too much information,
too much social media,
too much food,
too much inactivity,
too much of anything that isn't godly.

 As I listen to the slapping of my sneakers on the pavement,
I silence the worldly noise in my head.

I pass by meadows and fields,

gravel roads and lakes,

woods and valleys.

I look at the beauty God's hands made
and feel a part of that beauty.

 

I am a runner.

I ask God to help me.

"Keep my feet going, Lord.

Keep my heart thumping solidly in my chest.

Keep my muscles pushing me forward.

I'm doing this for You

and I can only do this with Your help!"

A red tailed hawk floats overhead in a turquoise sky.

Deer gaze at me from the deep green woods.

Sand hill cranes turn to watch me from rolling fields of golden wheat.
A chipmunk scampers across my path.

The morning sun warms my head

as the crisp breeze cools my face.

I pant.

I gasp.

I pray.

But instead of concentrating on the aches, pains and breathlessness,
I focus on the strength I feel from my achilles to my glutes
as my feet roll forward with each pounding step,
propelling me to the next mailbox, the next tree, the next cross road.

I CAN do this.

God's got my back.

I am running.

When I arrive back home 45 minutes later,

I'm hot. I'm sweaty. I'm tired. I'm aching.

But you know what?

I feel good.

Satisfied that I did something healthy for my body,

God's temple.
Knowing that it will eventually get easier.
Knowing that a fit body is not unattainable.

I'm finding that as each week goes by,
the ratio of running to walking is increasing.
My breathing is more controlled, almost like my lungs are remembering.
The hills are slowly becoming less mountainous and
 I actually look forward to hitting the road now.

I know that God is running with me all the way ~
showing me both the strength in me
and the beauty of his creation around me.

I am a runner 

and

I'm running with God ~

but only by his grace.

~ Blessings ~

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