Move While the Spirit is with You

Just the other day I was commenting how I felt like running twenty miles and I was told that normal people don't just do that (to paraphrase). The day following this exchange, on my Saturday run I can remember decidedly conceding that 13 was enough and didn't head out of the park. Even just a mile or two out would have bumped up the final number and gave me a sense of real accomplishment moving beyond the artificial marker. Moving beyond doing more then was planned has a real effect on the entire experience.

Then all day yesterday I planned to run. The plans got changed several times. I didn't want to run in the morning, then it was too hot, then the kids had homework and dinner and before I knew it the run was looming like a dark cloud. Several times during the day I commented to myself how I sabotaged the run and failed to take my own advice. I was a hypocritical screaming eagle.

Then as if I had lead clad sneakers I headed to the treadmill. I wanted to run a bit at least. These are essentially junk miles. They are of little benefit physically but they do stop the inertia. I got on my treadmill and ran 1.004 miles. I didn’t even set up my fan. I unplugged the machine and went to bed.

Lesson learned. As Metropolitan Alexios stated at a banquet dinner for a church groundbreaking ‘move while the Spirit is with you”. When you are in the flow of motion and feeling like accomplishing; do it. Don't assume it will be done at a later time. This is the ridiculous part running 13 was far easier then the mile I did just last night. AND fifteen was must closer on Sat then it is today. I’m still glad I took that victory lap, one for the team, as it were. Even one is better than none.

What keeps us from prayer is not lack of skill but commitment and more importantly desire. Running is my extension of prayer it is where I pray most easily when not in church of course. I converse with God all the time and in our household we talk God, Theology and ethics like some people talk about the latest movie release. Everything is filtered and examined beneath this filter on our electron microscope.

Just to piggy pack this idea I have noticed that women used to sit around the kitchen table chatting with their friends about the current events in their lives. Now they meet in parking lot and parks throughout the nation hitting the pavement.