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Wednesday, October 19, 2005
A Marathon
It was one of those New Year's Resolutions that everybody makes. I was going to stick to it, though...unlike everyone else, right? "Get in shape."
See, when I was younger I was very active in sports. You name it, I played it. At least recreationally. Plus, we rode our bikes everywhere, too.
As I got more involved with sports, running, stretching and weightlifting were added, too.
Even at college, I walked to class (or rode a bike). I played every intramural sport for my fraternity and played on a couple of other teams just for fun, too. There were days when I'd play basketball at the rec center for hours...or run with a friend and we got on a weightlifting kick one summer as well.
So, a couple of years ago I decided I was going to get in shape. Serious back-when-I-was-younger shape, too. But I knew myself well enough to know that a vague plan like "work out three days a week for the rest of your life" wasn't going to get it done. Too easy to blow off one workout. I usually do better at things like this when I have a specific goal with a specific deadline.
Then my sister mentioned that she had been getting in shape for a while...her goal was to run in a marathon at some point. She said she's read a book about training for it and I figured that since I was more athletic than she was (although she did have the age advantage, being the younger sibling) I could get the same book and catch up.
The book has a simple premise that's found in the title: The Non-Runner's Guide To Finishing Your First Marathon. It was written by a college professor who offers a class on marathon training and he had all sorts of helpful hints like mental preparation and specific diet information. But that's not enough. You still have to physically run the 26.2 miles, right?
And it starts out by little work outs...like 30 minutes on a treadmill three times a week. It increases time & days for six weeks, then you're going like an hour 5 times a week, plus doing some light weightlifting.
Then the mileage starts. One mile three times a week, with a 3 mile run on Saturday.
Two miles three times a week, with a four mile run on Saturday.
Two miles four times a week, with a five mile run on Saturday.
Three miles three times a week, with a five mile run on Saturday.
Three miles four times a week, with a six mile run on Saturday.
Four miles three times a week, with a six mile run on Saturday.
And so on and so forth...until you're up to race day and running the marathon.
I couldn't believe how quickly I got to the 8 mile runs in only two months! It was little steps that added up. At the end of month three I had completed my 18 mile run!
And that's the way that it is when we want to grow in our faith. See James 1: 2--3:
"Consider it all joy my bretheren when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."
See, it's a cycle:
You have faith.
Your encounter various trials (see yesterday's entry).
You come through the trial.
Your faith increases and you grow.
You encounter more various trials.
Your faith increases even more and you grow more.
Your then encounter more various trials...
and so on and so forth.
The next thing you know, you've completed the 18 mile run of your faith. You've grown more than you thought you would in whatever time frame you've looked back over. Sure, while you're in it, you have all sorts of "shin splints" or a sore ankle or maybe your little pinky toenail fell off, but you still completed the mileage, right? You grew.
And faith is a lot like that. There aren't shortcuts to spirituality. Spiritual formation is, in the words of Eugene Peterson, a slow business. But...
...KNOWING...
that the testing of your faith has a REASON helps you to deal with the shin splints or ankles or toenails falling off as they're happening.
And then you're growing more than you ever thought you would.
So, for today, can you think of a time that a trial produced growth in your life? What specifically did you learn from it?
Brent 4:02 AM
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