For me…

Many of you may know that running has long been a love/hate relationship for me. While running isn’t my favorite stress reliever, it does, indeed, provide much needed stress relief. If you could get in touch with any of my coaches over the years, they would probably all agree on two things-I had BIG heart for softball and I was NOT a runner! In 2017, when one of my dearest friends in all the world registered us for a half marathon benefiting breast cancer research, I was convinced she was nuts. I mean, running more than a mile, prior to this registration, had been a task. As in, I wasn’t doing it and no one was going to make me. But-she had a half marathon on her bucket list and I knew I wasn’t going to let her do it alone…so we trained. For months, we ran-three mornings per week, we followed a stringent running regimen and I saw some improvements. Race day came and we survived. We finished, received our finishers medal and walked away. And I SWORE I’d never run again.

I took a week off and realized that while I hated the actual act of running, it was such a peaceful time for me…so I decided to stay on track and keep running. That was in February of 2017. In July of that same year, we packed our family and home and drove across country to begin our adventure out west. And running went to the wayside…there are lots of reasons, lots of excuses for why but ultimately, I let me get in the way of something I knew was so good for me.

So-as the life we’ve built out West has turned from an adventure to a journey, as our family has grown, again-as our ministry mucks its way through untested waters of a pandemic-I’ve begun my running journey once again.

The big kids like to go with me and while I enjoy their company on occasion, for the most part I reserve the time for myself. I blast my worship music, my old school rap, my old school Alabama and Garth Brooks and I run. I’ve often said I’m running for my life, for the lives of my children, for my marriage…this week, I determined from now on, I’m just running for me.

That’s selfish, you might say.

Well, I see how you might feel that way. Just hear me out though.

See, I have spent a long time justifying to myself and others the reasons I need to run. When the truth of the matter is this: I am worth the time it takes to go for a run. I don’t need to FIND a reason that makes running and taking the time to care for myself appear valuable to others, its valuable because I am valuable. Its worthy because I am worthy.

This year, as we embark on so many unknowns around us, I am working on erring on the side of grace for myself and my family, I am pursuing humility in the face of opposition, I am fighting for the cause He puts before me and focusing on those things He sees as worthy, valuable, honorable and holding onto the hope that comes with viewing others and the world around me as my God does.

It’s in seeking those things that I’ve made the choice to run for me. Not for my family, not to save my life (because He saved my life when I was 11 years old), not because I need a break or because I enjoy the quiet (I want to interject and say I do INDEED require the break and I LOVE the quiet.)-I’m simply running for me because He says I am worthy and valuable and that my body is a temple and that doesn’t just mean my physical body. It means my mind, my spirit, my relationship with Him.

As we continue to watch the devastation of COVID-19 here in our beloved Navajo Nation, I want to remember the grace I’ve been given and give that same grace right back. My heart’s desire is to honor Christ in all I do. Period.

Running helps me do just that.

What’s your thing? What’s the thing that you need but don’t necessarily love? What’s the thing that brings you back to Jesus and helps you keep your focus on Him?

Find it, friends. Find ONE thing you can use for you. For your good and His glory…then DO IT!