Some things are just plain hard. Self-discipline is hard, but I guess that's why it's called "discipline."
I ran a 5K in February, and I would have to say that, physically, that was definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. I was nervous about it, but I wasn't nearly as frightened as I should have been by the "rolling hills" in the course description. Do you remember my goals? Well, I attained my goals. Y'all, there were times I seriously thought I might not make it. The hills were KILLER, but I was determined to run the whole race. Well, my run is probably a jog, but it's all relative, right?
I finished the race. I ran the whole way. I did not die or collapse. I did not puke, although I thought I might.
I even set a personal record in spite of the crazy hills.
It HURT. And I was sore for days. I tried to pick it up on Monday, and my leg hurt, and my hip hurt, and I knew I needed to rest. But I rested too long.
In the midst of musicals, training sessions, conferences, board meetings, information meetings, and church activities, we were home very little.
I quit. And I gained a little weight. So now I'm trying to get back on the wagon.
In the midst of this whole experience, doing things I've never even tried to do in the past, I keep thinking through the passage in 1 Corinthians 9 where Paul talks about the runner and the race. I'm sure that doing physically hard things has helped me to better understand this striving to be disciplined, and I think the physical striving can help to strengthen the spiritual striving. That's what I often think about as I'm running--doing hard things and growing in self-discipline. Each hard thing is a choice, and spiritual discipline calls us to make a host of hard choices on a daily basis. But I digress...
Our schedules have lightened a bit. I'm backing way up in the Ease into 5K program to get back to where I was. I am determined not to give it up totally, but I don't think I'll ever consider myself a real runner, either. I'm just a person who needs to do hard things sometimes.
So GOOD to see a new post! I fully understand where you are coming from - discipline - a hard lesson what we will always be working on.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your encouragement to ME - I'm with ya!
For
All
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Him