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Miles Behind

Today was a good running day for Annie and I. Jim usually runs with us on Saturdays but he was backlogged with work stuff.  So we headed out and I was thinking I would just run the typical 1.5 with Annie, drop her back off at the house and do another couple of miles on my own.

The weather was awesome, my playlist was great and Annie had a lot of puppy energy to burn. As we were heading home I could tell she wanted to keep going. She looked up at me with those eyes as if to say, " please don't make me go home, let me come with you this time. I am grown up, I can handle it." So I caved and ran her another mile and half. I had to pushed her a little to finish strong as that energy began to fade. With those miles behind her and tongue hanging to the ground by the time we got to the driveway, I'm sure she was thrilled to now go hang out with dad in his office. 

I wasn't sure how much further I would continue to go but had decided just another couple of miles. I checked my watch for current distance and did the math in my head so I would know when I would have to turn back. I'll run a mile out and turn around making it an even five. Math has never been my best subject but I could handle this. I've grown up a little too. ☺️  Off I went but within a short half mile my watch alerted me of a low battery. This should not surprise me or anyone who knows me. I constantly forget to charge my electronics. So now I don't know how much further I need to go to get in my full five miles. I know how far I've come but not how much I need to go. 

Isn't life a little like that? I know I can get discouraged because I'm just not where I want or even need to be. Yet. I don't even know exactly what "there" looks like. But I know I'm not there and I want to be. So much so that I forget how far I've gone. I don't want to forget where I've been. The miles behind that I've traveled. The aches and pains I've endured along the way. The perseverance when the road was rough and seemed all uphill. All of it. It's made me who I am. All the good, bad and in between stuff. There is a lot I would have done differently but then again I'm so thankful for the lessons those things taught me along the way. They made me who I am today. 

It reminded me of this great card I got from a sweet friend the other day.





 First of all, I love that she sees me as this kind of a friend to her. That's one of my life goals. To be good to and for people. But also it made me thankful that I have many dear friends in my life that are this kind of a friend to me. 

We all need each other. I think it is safe to say we all want to be accepted, we need encouragement to grow. I don't ever want to stop growing. I have so much more to learn on my  stay here on planet earth. But I also don't want to freak out about how much more I have to go that I forget how far I've come. My journey has been amazing so far. I've also had some great loses and have seen how so very quickly life can be taken from us and forever changed in an instant. So I don't want to lose sight of the finish line either. I want to finish strong.

 I can look back and say phew, look how far I've come and the lessons I've learned along the way. And yet, while I might not know exactly how much further that finish line is, I know it is still within reach if I don't give up. 


Pressing On 


“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV



“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,”
Hebrews 12:1 NIV


“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
James 1:12 NIV















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