It's amazing to me how quickly habits fade away and how readily our endurance wavers. It's also amazing to me how after one run...the first after a long hiatus...I feel stronger. It's as if running one day (and I use the word "running" loosely here) shed ten pounds and made me healthier. After that first run, I half-expected my too-tight jeans to fit loosely again.
Obviously that's not how we are designed. It takes weeks of training...hours of running...to reap the benefits.
However...there is something about simply running that keeps us healthy. That makes us feel strong.
The day we surrender to Jesus, we begin a journey. We set our feet upon a path from which we cannot return. Some days we sprint. Other days, our run is a little slower as we are burdened by the cares of a fallen world. Some days we feel exhilaration as our feet pound lightly on the path and carry us closer to our destination. No matter our speed, the fact is that at the end of one day...one run...we are not a whole lot healthier than when we woke up. But there is something about simply running that keeps us healthy.
My husband calls it an enduring race.
Each day, we wake up, our path stretched out before us. We begin our day anew with a steadfast resolve to chase after the heart of our God. We read our Bibles, care for our children, sweep up their crumbs, hold their hearts, converse with friends, and journey a little closer to our Jesus. Some days it's almost as if we ran a little farther...as if a proverbial ten pounds is shed from our loads. But most days? We fall into bed at night, exhausted from our run, the results of which barely inched us along in this journey called motherhood. But we can smile as our head hits the pillow...because the race is one of endurance. Because our feet never stopped moving.
It's the daily running...the pursuit of a Holy God...that defines our goals, perpetuates health and sends us headlong into holiness.
