My oldest finished school a week ago. My youngest finishes today. These past few weeks have been CRAZY because that’s how May rolls. Absolute insanity. And in the few moments I have between awards and field days and all the end of the year celebrations, when I should be getting all the things done (read: cleaning house, laundry, working out, meal prep, etc.), I find myself procrastinating or moving through things at a snail’s pace and not getting it all done.
Yesterday, I had a few minutes so I went for a run (stick with me these two convos tie together). It needed to be fairly quick so I could get back and shower and get on with my day. I had a distance in my mind, and I had a very reasonable time to complete that distance. But the humidity was close to 100%, the sun was beating down, and although the hour was relatively early, the temps were rising. My legs felt like a ton of bricks. I was sluggish and slow, and frankly, it was pretty miserable. I got within a mile of my goal, and I couldn’t run another step. So I stopped. I thought about quitting. I was frustrated that what typically feels easy was so stinkin’ hard. Instead I made myself walk. I’m not a walker. I hate walking, but walk I did. And I finished what I started. Not as fast as wanted. But also, I didn’t die, and I actually felt decent (and enjoyed that last mile) when I made myself walk rather than power through a terrible run.
And the lesson is this: Sometimes you run, and sometimes you walk. I am the proverbial energizer bunny . . . “still” is not in my vocabulary. Resting or taking it slowly when there things to be done, and there are always things to be done, is not my thing. But sometimes even runners need to walk. Sometimes I need to rest. Sometimes I’m going to knock it out of the park, and get it ALL done. But sometimes . . . well, life is going to be a bit chaotic and my brain . . . my body . . . my spirit. . . all of who makes me who I am . . . are going to need a minute to slow down. And that is okay too because eventually, I’ll finish.
God never told us we were going to run full speed all the time. He rested on the 7th day because He knew we would need to rest. There’s a time to rest . . . a time to wait. There’s a time to walk. And yes, there’s a time to run. The key is leaning into God through every season and every time, hard or easy, fast or slow, calm or chaotic.
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31
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