something else

i went for a run tonight. actually, i just got done.
i hadn't run in a long time.
it felt good.
i forgot how much stress it relieves in me.
note to self: run more.

today was really stressful. sometimes work just seems to come out of nowhere.
so the run was good. the nooma video we watched with advance camp was good too. it was one i'd never seen before.

and, as often happens after the right combination of things in a day: reading for a little while before worship tonight (... i WILL finish this book dangit.), truly enjoying hanging out with the kids before they leave on friday, time spent singing, a nooma video, music, and a run at dusk, i had some really good thoughts as i ran down the infamously windy highway x.

i feel like people commonly talk bout wishing life was more of a straight path- it's the turns and hills that throw off predicitability. i guess i often find myself with that same wish. "just make it easy, God. show me a straight path to follow and i will"

i am a goal oriented person. it keeps me motivated. and as i ran down highway x i kept saying to myself "ok, you can run just to that next curve" or "alright, you're almost up this hill" and it kept me going. each curve and hill along the way was some sort of mini milestone in my run. i NEED those milestones, because i'm not really a very good runner. each tiny victory made the daunting task ahead of me seem somehow easier.

this parallels my life.
sure it'd be easier if there weren't so many twists and turns.
i feel like i've had a lot of unexpected curves over the past year or so. but i can't help but think that if my life was a straight road i would have missed something. a flat road lined with dull scenery isn't very fun to run on. it's the curves, the hills, the variences in surroundings that make it exciting for me. these small things tangibly mark the distance i've come. once again, this is true in my life.

the highs and lows, frustrations and joy, fears and hope that have overcome my heart in the past few years have made definitive marks on my life that i wouldn't give up for anything. they mark the path that God has brought me down, no matter how windy and curvy it's been and will continue to be.



"i believe in a faith that grows and the four right chords could make me cry, when i'm with you i feel like i could die and that would be alright... i want something else to get me through this life" third eye blind, semi-charmed life