Outside Again

Yesterday the temperature hit 54. A nice day.

I haven't been able to run outside for a couple of weeks. We had a large snow storm the first of February and then last week we had a couple of inches. Large piles of snow blocked a lot of sidewalks and the trails I like to run on were covered with six or seven inches of snow.

So I have been stuck inside for my workouts. And I hate that. I have to get on the treadmill. And I really hate that. The only good part is that I get to see Jeopardy and yell at the contestants.

But there has been some good melting for the last few days and yesterday the streets were finally wide enough for me to feel semi safe running. I was able to wear shorts and get out in the sun.

It was great to get outside and run again even though there were still large piles of snow all over the place. There were a couple of bonehead drivers who cut it kind of close to me. Probably the same people who don't shovel their walks after a snow storm.

But the one thing I noticed is that I was kind of out of shape to run outside. Not out of shape, just off my form and not quite ready to run. A couple of pounds of sludge and crud seemed to have built up. It wasn't really a struggle but it wasn't a lot of fun either.

But today was much better. Felt better and ran faster even though I slept lousy last night (had to get up and talk with God about a couple of things at 135 this morning) and it was a bit colder out.

As I ran today, I realized that my relationship with God is kind of like that. If I am not daily working on that relationship, it gets off. There is kind of a build up of sludge that I have to clean out. I have to deal with those issues (lets call them what they are: my sin) that come between me and God on a daily basis.

But if I don't take the initiative and deal with that sin, it festers and slows me down, seeping into my joints and making me ineffective in my relationship with others. Its way easier to deal with it on a daily basis. The walk with Him is easier even as I grow stronger and take on greater challenges. If I am not daily working on the relationship, it makes it easier to take another day off and pretty soon I am heading in a totally different direction.

And I have to take that initiative. God is patient and waits for me to come back and confess my sins. No on else can do it for me.

Kind of like my runs...