Pressing On

  It sounds a little melodramatic to say that I am grieving running since my silly little stress fracture. But I do miss it. It’s been nearly three months since I last went for a run. Running became a part of me some twenty five years ago. Holy cow have I really been hitting the pavement that long? I started running to clear my head at a time when our marriage was in a rough spot. It helped numb some pain, sweat out toxins, burn calories and allowed me to escape the chaos of fighting kids for at least thirty to forty minutes a couple of times a week. I began to look forward to this activity and increased how often I would head out the door with my running shoes. I found that I almost needed it and that morphed into a habit and eventually a lifestyle.   Several years later when God grabbed ahold of me and Jim started running with me, it morphed again. It turned into a space for my time with God. Jim had taken our running to the next level of racing and doing long distance training. It w

Shortly before Mother’s Day I was out running with Jim and Annie. It was a regular day and I was finally starting to feel good physically and emotionally. The Covid Stay Home order had been lifted. Staying put isn’t one of my strengths. Especially if someone tells me I have to. I’m typically a rule follower but I don’t enjoy being told what do when it goes against my temperament. However, I had stayed home and even embraced it for the first few weeks like most everyone else.  While our gym was closed I took advantage of the at-home workouts offered via Facebook live. Not giving much thought to the fact it was on hard tile in my little den/study. Or that I was still wearing my running shoes. But I loved working out from home this way. I still somehow felt connected with this community of women. I moved furniture around. Annie would join in and try to steal my mat but I still got a good workout every day I wasn’t running.  I can’t say it was an event or a “all of a sudden” that

I’m on day 26 of my 30 day detox from social media. A lot has happened in twenty six days.  I had made the decision for this 30 day experiment when I found myself habitually gravitating to my phone and absentmindedly clicking on my Instagram App throughout the day. I am not sure when or even how I allowed this device to consume most of my day but it had and I knew I needed to make a change. Starting with the amount of time I spent scrolling. So it was just days before the toilet paper hoarding began that I had logged off of my social media sites. I guess you could call it Social Distancing in a way. I can’t say it was easy. In fact, like any other habit it had many challenges in my breaking it. I had serious  FOMO for the first week or so. What would I be missing and would others miss me? I doubt it but it’s a nice thought.   It has been a very freeing experience. I’m embarrassed to admit that in some ways I feel like I got my life back. I am connecting more with God, reading

Too often I live based on my feelings. Feelings are real and I trust God gave them to us for a reason. But if I only listen to my feelings and then act on those I can get into a heap of trouble. I don’t feel like doing the laundry so...I don’t feel like going to the gym so.... I feel like eating ice cream so ... I don’t feel like forgiving that person.... I feel like making sure I’m first in line..... I feel like I should get my way..... I think you get the picture.  And unfortunately, sometimes I let my feelings overrule what I know to be true about God. I don’t always feel His presence. I think that is by design. He wants us to seek Him constantly, seeking His face and His guidance. It’s not like this big game of Hide and Seek. He doesn’t hide from us. He is there! Always! But we can put Him in a box because we just don’t feel Him.  One of my daily prayers is “God, show me you today.”  Then, I go about my day and think I didn’t see Him. Oh, He is there. In everything. The pr