Diving Right In

We saw a ton of runners this weekend.  It was awesome!  I love the energy and activity that the Lincoln Marathon and spring stir up.  Sarah says physical therapists also love this season.  New client relationships are established daily by patients concerned about pains from running.  Many of us don't run all winter and suddenly realize the half or full marathon is only a rough month and a half away.  Time to hit the road in a serious way!  And so we come in limping because something didn't go quite right.


Attempting to go from 0 to 60 is always exhilarating.  It's adventurous, risky, thrilling, and often impressive.  It also helps us feel unstoppable, unbeatable, and to one degree or another, immortal.

I kept pretty quiet this weekend as we pondered the nature of these runners who may have unrealistic or dangerous expectations about what their bodies can withstand.  But my silence was multi-sourced.  One, I wanted to be running each time we saw runners, and my mind was taking me to trails I hoped to get onto soon.  Two, while I agree it's not wise to go 0-60 in only a week or two, I MAY also be just as guilty of the act.  Three, my mind might have also been preoccupied by the faint, jabbing pain in my foot I am currently working through as part of my own diving-all-in approach.  Joke and lesson both on me!

Yet, this is what we do in life.  We dive all in and expect only the best results and resolutions.  We want to look thinner within three days of our crash diet.  We want to drop two minutes off our pace by the end of the first week.  We want to get all our spring landscaping projects finished in one tedious 16 hour stretch.  We want our rocky relationships to be completely realigned and happy again after one rigorous two hour session with a counselor.  We want our children to behave like angels again after one intense scolding and week without technology.

And just like we pour into the clinics daily with injuries and reports of pain from our instant running, we end up standing in long lines of wreckage, reeling from disappointment, discouragement, and loss of hope when things didn't go as planned in other areas.  Often we only find we are in more pain than we were in before we tried instantly to resolve our initial pains.

Ultimately, we're reminded of time's lesson.  Everything we want to accomplish and do well requires it--and often in large quantities.  A prayer in the Psalms often attributed to Moses exclaims, "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (90:12).  It's not that we are to count our days as if counting down to summer break.  Instead, we number our days in understanding of God's work and timing--for the sake of wisdom.  It's then we realize the beauty of time and our willingness to persevere.


More to come!

Jason <><