A few days ago I read an article and saw a CNN interview with Ryan Hall (one of the USA Olympians for the marathon). He has switched coaches... now, the way Runner's World magazine put it a little while ago was that he was switching to being "self coached" rather than taking on a traditional running coach. However, when he was going through a mandatory drug screening, he listed as his coach, "God".
Woah! You mean the creator of all things is your running coach?
The way he puts it is that he is using scripture and prayer to determine what kind of workout he's going to do that day. When pressed whether or not he'd blame God if he doesn't win, he said that while it is tempting to do so, he recognizes his own frailty as a human being. He is a great competitor, but winning isn't his only goal. He also understands that there are times that he trains against God's plan by doing too little or too much and it is at those times that he fails. He says he is going from being a "runner who is a Christian" to a "Christian who runs".
I like it. No more following such a crazy, strict plan, no more traditional training plans... if one day the Spirit says, "Go fast!", you go fast, if another day the Spirit says to "Rest!" you rest, etc. It takes a lot of time, patience, and practice to try to tune your life to God's plan. When we say "just pray and everything will be alright", we're kind of missing the point. Just "praying" really isn't enough.
We need to be completely willing to let God take over our schedules, our checkbooks, our plans, and our lives. We need to be immersed in the Spirit's direction in our lives. Sometimes that means that maybe we just let things happen and go with it for a while. It's amazing how some things just work out. Sometimes we just need to say "yes" when presented with opportunity and stop worrying. Sometimes our schedule gets messed up because something happened out of our control, but maybe that's just something God is doing so that another opportunity might arise- maybe just to help another person... who knows?
Today, I wanted to run 12 miles. I wanted to go early, but my wife needed to do a 5 mile tempo run, so she went first. She had an appointment afterwards and needed to do some errands at the church. While I originally thought I'd be out the door by 10:30, I didn't get out until after 12... just around the time the rain started to come down. I was originally upset... but the rain was cool, and after all these 99/100 degree days it was nice for a change, so I got over it.
Close to mile 3, I noticed a library card on the shoulder of US 209 where I was running. I thought that was a little odd, but then noticed a wallet size picture album, shortly followed by a wallet. At first I was going to just leave it there, but I thought about it and realized that if I had lost my wallet on a highway, I would rather someone honest pick it up and get it back to me. So, I gathered all the stuff together and ran, with it soaking wet in my hand back home. I dropped it off and ran my second 6 mile loop to complete the 12 miles.
When I got home, drenched, I brought the wallet inside, dried off as best I could and looked in the wallet. Wow, this guy had everything in there! Social Security card, driver's license, old pictures, his draft card, etc... was I ever glad I picked it up! It was easy to find him in the phone book and I called his house. He was incredibly grateful that I picked it up. I returned the wallet, in tact.
I can't help but think God was in that. Had I ran when I wanted to, that wallet wouldn't have been there. He hadn't left yet, he hadn't lost it yet. There was apparently $100 inside... anyone else could have picked it up, many, I'd like to think, would have done the same thing, but there are those who would have just taken the cash and ditched the wallet... all those memories inside. Someone could have used his information to steal his identity.
God knew what was going to happen and it was at His urging that I did what I did. Maybe Ryan Hall is on to something we're all missing. Maybe in order to run and eat simply, we need to tune our bodies with the One who designed them- listen, pray, soak in His goodness and obey His urgings. We might be surprised by the opportunities that come to us and the courage we have at following through.
Thank you for reading and God bless you on your journey.
PS. please remember to pray for me and cheer me on as I have joined Team Fish in the Livestrong Philly Challenge. And, if you are so moved, please donate by clicking here to help fight cancer.
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