Yesterday when I left the office I went for a run. Little Mulberry Park is really close to our house so I changed, muscled down a sandwich, gulped a water, and jumped in the car. I needed a little time to re-boot and clear my thoughts.I haven't had much time for recreation since we moved back to Georgia and joined 12Stone. With the move, learning my new job, and all the small tasks in between, putting my body through a grueling regimen has not been high on the list. I felt the need to renew this discipline yesterday though.
Little Mulberry Park is a magnificent place with miles of running trails with views of incredible forests and lakes. It is definitely a place where you can clear your mind and think deep thoughts. My deep thoughts however consisted of plugging the i-pod into my ears and blasting Drivin' & Cryin' while focusing on dominating the trail that lie before me!
I once heard a leadership guru who visited my former church in California talk about the importance of making time for play and how it is especially vital in the life of a pastor. He spoke of how sad it is that many guys in full-time ministry never make time for recreation and even sometimes feel guilty for doing so. I agree with him.
As I ran I got tired which made me breathe faster which caused my heart to beat faster which caused the oxygen to be pumped throughout my body at a much greater rate of speed which caused my brain to receive more oxygen than usual which caused me to think clearly and even sort of relax mentally and emotionally which made me want to run more. Very cool. Not to mention the song Fly Me Courageous was causing me to want to break something with my bare hands while I sped forward.
Last night after my friends Jason and Brett left, as I watched the NBA playoff game I had a thought. Running a trail like the one at Little Mulberry Park is a lot like living life. There are tons of different variations to the path you find yourself on. Some parts are curvy, some are straight. Some parts of the trail are a downhill cruise while others seem to go straight up a 70 degree incline. There are places in the trail where the scenery overlooks a majestic array of green trees, reflecting lakes, and even a large swan leading her baby chicks like a scene right out of a Mother Goose book while other portions are dark and over-layed with gloomy trees straight out of an Edgar Allen Poe story. Sometimes while looking at the scary scenery you even fall and scrape your knees.
You pass a lot of different people while on the trail. Old and young, skinny and not-so-skinny, young yuppie professionals and blue collar workers, nice looking couples and even the occasional scary looking man with dark eyes who looks exactly like that crazy dude from No Country for Old Men who made me have bad dreams for like a week and the whole time you're passing him on the trail you are totally freaked out just praying under your breath that he doesn't pull out one of those creepy bolt-gun things from that movie and start to...... wait....... sorry.
My point is that the trail we're running on is always changing. The hope that we have is that the ONE who runs with us never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The same GOD who is running with me and leading me on this trail of my life is the same GOD who led and ran with the Apostle Paul on his trail of life. I find amazing peace in this truth.
Right now in the ministry I lead there are 2 separate sets of parents involved in serving in the ministry who are dealing with pretty big health issues with their children. They are incredible parents with an inspiring faith and trust in the Lord Jesus. I have learned a lot from them as I've talked to them over the past couple weeks. Right now they find themselves on an uncomfortable piece of the trail. Sometimes it's probably even scary. But nevertheless their eyes are staring ahead. And with the promises of GOD blaring out of their invisible i-pods into their spiritual ears they press on. They are heroes and they inspire me to do the same.
And the cool thing is that one day, when this trail comes to an end, those of us who have trusted in Christ will begin to run on a brand new trail. A trail where there are no more gloomy places, no more dark corners, and no more creepy villains with dark eyes, a bolt gun, and a really bad bowl haircut. That trail will never end. And we will never ever fall and scrape our knees again.
2 comments:
"My point is that the trail we're running on is always changing. The hope that we have is that the ONE who runs with us never changes."
good metaphor.
so true.
thanks for the reality check on the uncomfortable parts of the trail. It becomes easy to define ourselves and our walk by the trail - what we see, experience and believe about the trail. But at the end of the day it really is about the one who will ulitmately make the trail new.
Gotta quit looking at my feet!
Thank you for writing this. Right now, there's literally not one thing that ISN'T changing around these parts. Friends everywhere moving, People getting married, work situations changing, even changes in my health. (I'm embarking on a journey including losing 50 pounds and all organic from food to shampoo to medicine.) Sometimes when you're in the middle of this it gets tough and more than a bit overwhelming. But the more changes, the more clear it becomes that Christ is the only constant. (
Ha! constants. From LOST! Get it?) Do you ever think about the possibility that God allows and even stirs up change in our lives just to show us even more that He is? And that ONLY He is? Thinking about that makes change a whole different ballgame!!
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