Running in the Rain

A couple of posts ago I mentioned that I am starting to run. It's proven to be quite the challenge. My shins burn nearly constantly now. And every morning that I'm supposed to run, my bed is that much more comfortable. This morning was that morning. I slept an hour later than I was supposed to and therefore ran an hour later than I should have. It seems innocent enough, but today it was absolutely crucial...let me explain.

I run with my training team on Saturdays. This is where I push for distance and time. This past Saturday I ran 2 miles. I've never run two miles in my life. It was ridiculously hard for me, but there were at least 75 people with me so I made it in decent time.

Mondays are my re-coup run day. I run the same distance that I did on Saturday but I take an easier pace and walk if I need to. So today I was running another 2 miles. 2 Miles for the second time in my life. And it kicked my tail. I ran, then walked, then ran, then walked, then walked, then staggered, then ran....you get the picture. I was on my way back to my house after having been roughly 1.6 miles. I had walked for about 2 minutes and worked up some energy to run for a bit.

I told myself. "You have to make it to this street. You have to run until you get to this street." So I started to run. Every part of my body hurt. I was having a hard time catching my breath. I was sweating and hot and sweaty. Every piece of me wanted to quit. And then something interesting happened....

It started to rain. A sprinkle at first. Then some bigger drops. And then an all out rain. A heavy cooling and refreshing rain. It was exactly what I needed. I cooled me off and gave me an extra bit of energy to run. At the same time the song "We Win" by David Crowder Band came on my ipod. The music built up, the rain fell down. And I ran. I ran past my goal and kept going. I ran past the next street and ran all the way back to my street. It was amazing....

Sometimes I feel like my life is that way. I feel like every part of me wants to quit. Whether it's tough times with work or maybe I feel far away from God. Maybe I just can't figure out what God wants me to do next. These are the times that we face and we just want to give up on following God. These are the times where we just crave for God to rain down on us....

The amazing thing about God is that He always will rain down on us. It might not be on our time table. We might even have to run on despite everything in us telling us to quite. But God is faithful. God will rain His comfort, peace, wisdom, .etc down on you when you need it most. You just have to keep running.

Until Next Time,
Jon