There.
I said it.
I am a runner.
I never wanted to be a runner.
I wasn't going to be a runner.
I saw an Instagram post challenging people to run a Hot Chocolate 5k. I had to google how far 5k was. I knew that I couldn't run the whole thing. I didn't know that I would be able to finish the whole thing. What I did know is that the hoodie was adorable!! The other thing that I have learned in life is that horrible things are always more fun if you find someone to do it with you.
That could be the reason I decided to once jump into an icy cold lake in New York over Senior
Trip. I would have never done that alone and been seen as a sane person. Yet somehow
jumping into a freezing lake with friends is a memory and no longer a reason to be
checked into a room with padded walls.
Trip. I would have never done that alone and been seen as a sane person. Yet somehow
jumping into a freezing lake with friends is a memory and no longer a reason to be
checked into a room with padded walls.
Back on track. So I wanted to "run" a 5k and needed to recruit some crazies to do it with me. First on the list of any crazy adventure that I go on is the Bestie. If you go back to my freezing lake story, yeah she jumped too. I could give you a whole post dedicated to crazy stuff that woman and I have done together. So a recruited her and some others. After a bit, we had a group of women doing this thing called a Couch to 5k. The premise behind that program is so get your hiney off of the couch and out of the door. You pop your earbuds in and follow directions. The nice, friendly voice tells you when to walk and when to do a "light jog". These little bouts of jogging are not measured by how fast or far you go but by getting out there and doing it. I remember during one 60 second period jogging telling that nice friendly voice how I felt about her telling me to jog and begging her to just for the love of all things wonderful to LET ME WALK!!
Those early runs were awkward and painful. I would get this horrible burning feeling in my thighs that I was convinced would never go away. I couldn't breathe well. I was uncoordinated and my arms didn't know where to go or what to do. I felt unbalanced and lanky. IT WAS HORRIBLE! Here is what kept me going. Someone had started a group text of all of these ladies and we would check in after our running. We would brag when we nailed the day's training and whine when it was painful. No one ever made me reply but after a few days of my friends continually updating thatstupid wonderful group text I knew I needed to do better and get out there more.
Here is the honest truth. It was something that I wanted to do. Not a single soul on this earth had forced me to sign up. Go back to that one more time. It was something that I wanted to do but I was not doing it. I am a grown woman. Why in God's green earth would I be avoiding something that I wanted to do? Here is the truth. It was new and uncomfortable and I am lazy. There was always something easier to do. Watching Netflix is easy and comfortable and warm and wonderful and easy and comfortable and warm and warm and.....well you get the drift. We have this sinful nature in our soul that doesn't want to grow. I have this inner baby inside of me that wants to always be warm, well-fed and comfortable. If you put me outside of my comfort zone I get....well...uncomfortable. So I needed those kind ladies telling me about what they were doing. I needed to hear about what they were doing to spur me on. If I was looking for someone to help me binge-watch Pretty Little Liars, this was not the group. I needed help to do what I wanted to do. Here is the other truth, I could have left this group of women that were challenging me and found another group of ladies that made me more comfortable. With minimal effort, I could have found a few women (or my dear students) who were watching Pretty Little Liars and we could have texted all night. We can always, easily find people that will encourage us to stay the same often easier than we can find some to encourage us.
When I read in Romans, I see someone with the same struggle. WHY? Why would my creator make me in a way that I self-destruct? Why do I do this? Here is what I have learned, I NEED people. Yes, I am sanguine and my personality causes me to be a bit needy and overly-social. Yes, I am sanguine like a penguin. But, this need crosses all personality types. We need others to spur on a genuine change. We are created to be with each other. We are called to do what my pastor calls "doing life". To do this we need to be willing to send that message that says when we had a great day and when we had a bad one.
I challenge you to find someone today that you can be real with. Tell them what you are wanting to do and ask them to check on you. Only with the help of others will we see real change.
Romans 7:15-20 ESV
15For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me
Those early runs were awkward and painful. I would get this horrible burning feeling in my thighs that I was convinced would never go away. I couldn't breathe well. I was uncoordinated and my arms didn't know where to go or what to do. I felt unbalanced and lanky. IT WAS HORRIBLE! Here is what kept me going. Someone had started a group text of all of these ladies and we would check in after our running. We would brag when we nailed the day's training and whine when it was painful. No one ever made me reply but after a few days of my friends continually updating that
Here is the honest truth. It was something that I wanted to do. Not a single soul on this earth had forced me to sign up. Go back to that one more time. It was something that I wanted to do but I was not doing it. I am a grown woman. Why in God's green earth would I be avoiding something that I wanted to do? Here is the truth. It was new and uncomfortable and I am lazy. There was always something easier to do. Watching Netflix is easy and comfortable and warm and wonderful and easy and comfortable and warm and warm and.....well you get the drift. We have this sinful nature in our soul that doesn't want to grow. I have this inner baby inside of me that wants to always be warm, well-fed and comfortable. If you put me outside of my comfort zone I get....well...uncomfortable. So I needed those kind ladies telling me about what they were doing. I needed to hear about what they were doing to spur me on. If I was looking for someone to help me binge-watch Pretty Little Liars, this was not the group. I needed help to do what I wanted to do. Here is the other truth, I could have left this group of women that were challenging me and found another group of ladies that made me more comfortable. With minimal effort, I could have found a few women (or my dear students) who were watching Pretty Little Liars and we could have texted all night. We can always, easily find people that will encourage us to stay the same often easier than we can find some to encourage us.
When I read in Romans, I see someone with the same struggle. WHY? Why would my creator make me in a way that I self-destruct? Why do I do this? Here is what I have learned, I NEED people. Yes, I am sanguine and my personality causes me to be a bit needy and overly-social. Yes, I am sanguine like a penguin. But, this need crosses all personality types. We need others to spur on a genuine change. We are created to be with each other. We are called to do what my pastor calls "doing life". To do this we need to be willing to send that message that says when we had a great day and when we had a bad one.
I challenge you to find someone today that you can be real with. Tell them what you are wanting to do and ask them to check on you. Only with the help of others will we see real change.
Romans 7:15-20 ESV
15For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me
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