Those negative, downgrading, nonproductive, thoughts have been creeping back into my mind lately.  Those ones that when you look in the mirror instead of seeing a strong, loving, fun and caring wife and mother, they cause you to see a tired, fluffy, weak woman.  It is such an easy trap to fall into and can be such a hard one to get out of.

And then as he always does, in the moments you need it the most, God gives you a day like today.  A “Top 10” day, the sun was out, there was a cool breeze, and the air was warm but not too hot.  He gives you the courage to enjoy the day by going for a run.  Something you haven’t done for a while and maybe haven’t even done this year, but the weather is far too perfect to pass up this opportunity.  You think to yourself if the weather were like this year round, I might actually be a runner.

You set out with low intentions because of those thoughts that have been swirling around in your head. Turning on the music, you head up to the almost finished highway that is still closed for construction and hit Start on your running app.  The road is flat, the path is smooth, and you continue putting one foot in front of the other.

Soon you find yourself in a rhythm, your mind drifts off and you get lost in the music.  Every so often you get an update on your app about your distance and pace, with each one you become slightly more impressed with yourself.  While you know you won’t be setting any records, you slowly feel your mind shift.

Your focus shifts from the extra fluff you feel you have around your middle, to the power of your legs as they carry you down the highway, the strength of your lungs as your breathing steadies, and the rhythm your feet fall into as they make contact with the ground.

You are passed by some bikers who after exchanging hellos, make a comment about the amazing weather.  You think to yourself just keep following those bikers, you might just catch them.  After another progress update from your app, you look up and are pleasantly surprised that you in fact caught up to the bikers.  As you pass them taking a break, you are greeted with a “slow down, you are making me look bad” which causes you to laugh and smile as you continue on your way.

You suddenly hear the update that you have been running for 3 kilometers, you decide at the next construction sign you will turn around and head back towards home.  On the way back you find yourself smiling, you had no goal in mind when you started out but you do now, at least a 5K.  You think back to when you first started running and that you had to train daily to work up to running a 5K and here you are out for a Sunday jog, going to do that with no problems.

Without the breeze in your face, the sun feels a little warmer butnonetheless you keep going.  Watching the road a few feet in front of you as you make your way, glancing up and looking around at the sights every so often.  Eventually the update you have been going for, “distance 5.0 kilometers”, and instead of stopping you pick up your pace.  What is there to lose at this point?  You have exceeded all expectations you had set for yourself.

You begin to feel yourself growing tired as you reach the turn off the highway and you decide to end your run there.  As you pause your running app, you see 5.82 kilometers and you could easily get lost in the fact you only had 1.8 more to go to get to 6, but instead you see a number that is further than 5 and you tilt your head up towards the sky and say “Thank You”.

 

The thing about life is, you can accomplish more than you ever imagine you would, if you show up consistently every day.  Whether it is your fitness, in your marriage, as a parent, or for your career if you put in the work over time you will see the benefits of that hard work.  You are guaranteed to have ups and downs along the way and might not realize how far you have come, and then God gives you a day like today. A Top 10 Day and a little nudge to go for that run.