Snowy Grace Slow Down

I got to run in the snow today!  It was pure heavenly bliss.  Okay, part of the bliss may be based on the fact that I've spent the last couple weeks stuck in my house with a sick child so any run outdoors feels awesome.  But, I really do enjoy running in a light snow.  There's something so refreshing and well, fun about it.  I feel like a kid when I run in the snow.  I had flakes landing on my lashes and even in my mouth while I ran and my black running jacket was half white within seconds of heading out the door. While we had big flakes falling, the build-up on the ground wasn't too terrible, perhaps just a half an inch of a slushy snowy mix.  It was enough to slow me down and soak my shoes (yes, I ran to the sound of "squish, squish, squish") but not enough to keep me away. My husband tried to keep me from going.  He came home and mentioned that it was slippery and reminded me how ticked off I'd be if I wound up slipping and hurting myself at the start of my marathon training and just before our 10K race this weekend.  Really, he wasn't worried about me as much as he was himself.  He didn't want to live with me if I had to cease training for an injury.  Lucky for him I didn't slip!  Lucky for me I took the chance because the run was great.  I took it slow and really, it wasn't all that slippery.  There was only one hill I walked down because of the risk of falling and by the time I was 3 miles into the run the sun came out anyway.  It wasn't long before my path was mostly just a big ol' puddle.  Now my shoes were making a sound more like, "slap squash, slap squash, slap squash".  It was still a fun run.  When else do I allow myself permission, as an adult, to get my shoes soaking wet on purpose? 

What else was great about this run?  The slowing down (cause you know, I'm so fast otherwise - ha!) gave me time to ponder God.  It was actually the slowing down that spoke to me.  Snow is often equated with cleansing.  How often do we hear, "a blanket of white snow covered ..." and think of God's cleansing power?  Today's run, however, reminded me that when we're in a time of cleansing we need to slow down and take time to enjoy it.  Enjoy it?  Okay, true, it's not always enjoyable to be cleansed by God.  It can be a painful and messy process.  There is a sloughing off of the old and dirty that must be endured.  I know that I for one, don't always welcome the process.  In fact, I can often be found running from it much like the filthy toddler who hates bath time.   God is God though and being cleansed by him is a beautiful thing.  As I watched the snow falling around me, covering the bare path before me, the grass and dirt, the homes, the mountains in the distance, I realized that this is what walking with God is all about.  It's about letting him cover me with his grace and in order to do that, I need to slow down.  I can't keep running full speed ahead or I will miss what He has for me and rather than getting completely covered in his grace I may only receive a dusting.  I want more than a dusting of God!  The snow creates a beautiful landscape of the earth and God's grace creates a beautiful spirit within me.  I want that spirit.  I want people to look at me and see God's covering over my life.  So I will take time to slow down and allow God to cleanse and purify me.  I will look out and see the beauty of the process.  God's cleansing grace is not a cold punishment I must endure.  It's a loving gift from the Creator of my life and I want to taste and feel it's soft, wet flakes on my tongue as I run through the sloppy slushy mess life can sometimes be, secure in the knowledge God is with me.

Back At It!

I'm back at it, marathon training and blogging.  First we'll discuss the marathon. I signed up for the North Olympic Discovery Marathon or the NODM in Port Angeles. It takes place June 5th which means training has just begun.  I'm quite excited and anxious to begin ramping up my long runs.  There's a thrill about going further and farther that I still can't quite explain.  I think the non-athletic young me is still in shock and disbelief that older me can actually endure for that long.  Of course, older me knows that I can make it through child birth without the assistance of drugs, tolerate days, weeks and months on no more than 3-4 hours of sleep (though fortunately babies eventually outgrow that stage), handle being thrown up on by a sick child, pull a pre-teen out of bed in the morning for school after I've been up all night with the flu, deal with kidney stones, and a whole host of other really not fun stuff. If I can do all that I can surely push my body for 26.2 miles.  I know I'll keep up with my marathon training given there are no injury set-backs and this time I hope to push it a little harder.  My first marathon was all about the experience.  I had no time goal.  My only goal was to finish with a smile on my face and the desire to run another one.  Mission accomplished!  I ran with my husband and a friend and spent too much time chatting with volunteers at a couple of the aid stations to worry about my time.  I enjoyed myself but I was in no danger of finishing fast.  This marathon I hope to still have fun but I also want to shave a considerable amount of time off my finish, as in 30 minutes would be nice.  I still won't be in any danger of coming in fast but I'm pretty sure I can finish faster.

As for the blog, I really hope to keep it up.  I enjoy writing so rather than wasting time playing Spider Solitaire I want to pop in here and blog.  I've also decided to take another grand step and I think it just may be harder than the marathon training I'm about to embark on.  I'm finally going to start on that book that's been swimming around in my brain for a couple years.  Actually, I've already started.  I have five pages written!  Yep, five whole pages.  I've got a long way to go.  However, I think those first five have been the hardest. They signify so much more than just a book.  I've been struggling with the whole book concept.  Why?  It freaks me out, that's why!  I've felt for a while now that God has a book in store for me but I haven't known exactly what that book is.  The whole book subject matter has been circling aimlessly round and round my brain while I have tried to figure out easier ways to follow God's direction.  Writing and publishing a book is hard.  Surely there is an easier way to use my writing for God.  I can write essays or short stories for magazines.  I can start a blog!  Perhaps I'll write a story for kids, one my daughter would like.  This is too hard.  I'll ignore it and maybe it will just materialize or go away.  It didn't go away.  What did go away was some of my passion for God, some of my joy.  By ignoring the call on my life I've had to ignore God's voice.  Sure, I still follow Him and read His word but I haven't let it penetrate my heart with the same zeal of the past.  To do so would mean taking up this book prompting again and all the hard work and research I know it's going to entail.  But enough is enough.  I miss God.  I miss His joy in my life.  I miss passion and zeal.  Once I admitted that, beginning my book wasn't as hard.  I suddenly have a direction.  I have a subject matter.  I have a target audience.  I want to reach women for Christ and at the same time encourage them to be healthy and active.  I love men but they are not the audience God is directing me toward.  At least not at this point in time.  So, my book has begun.  It will be a long process and this blog will hopefully help keep me accountable.  The experts in running say when you decide to run a marathon you need to register and then tell people about it.  It will give you accountability and motivation. That's what I'm doing now.  I'm announcing my marathon plan and my book plan.  And you know what, I'm feeling really joyful, passionate and full of zeal at the prospect of both adventures!