SOMETIMES YOU RUN, SOMETIMES YOU walk, but the key is keeping yourself moving forward. This past Monday I practiced that truth one more time. My plan was to head out for what I refer to as my “long run” of the week. A run whose purpose is to cover a longer distance, say nine miles, but at a slower pace so that I can finish. There are other days for shorter, faster runs, but not on the long day.
Well, all things started well until I realized that the course I had planned for the day took me up Pipeline Road in Henry Cowell State Park (did I mention UP). Needless to say, my run turned into a walk. This unplanned walking discouraged me, but at least I was still moving forward. Soon I was at the top and things leveled out. I thought “Great! Soon I’ll be going downhill.” Let me tell you going downhill is no easy walk in the park. Finally I was back on “level” ground and worked to get back in my regular cadence. Sadly, I was still moving slower than I liked because of the energy expended on the hills.
There are lots of lessons a guy can learn on these longs runs, but the one that grabbed me this time was the joy of forward momentum. Too often I get discouraged when things are not taking place as fast I was would desire. I can beat myself up, or even start the trashy thinking of “why even try?” Rather, I need to rejoice and rest in the knowledge that at least I am upright, breathing, and moving forward.
This holds true for our life as followers of Jesus Christ. Sometimes we feel the wind rushing by as we run in the pursuit of the goal, and other times the only wind we hear is our own gasping for breath. My solution in those “gasping times:” slow down, breath deep of the Spirit, and keep your eyes firmly focused upon the One who has finished the race for you.
And keep moving forward.