Day 3 - Lessons learned

Lord I have a heavy burden of all I've seen and know
It's more than I can handle
But your word is burning like a fire shut up in my bones
and I cannot let it go

And when I'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought

I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

Lord it's all that I can't carry and cannot leave behind
it often overwhelms me
but when I think of all who've gone before and lived the faithful life
their courage compels me

I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars
I see the shepherd Moses in the Pharaoh's court
I hear his call for freedom for the people of the Lord
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

I see the long quiet walk along the Underground Railroad
I see the slave awaken to the value of her soul
I see the young missionary and the angry spear
I see his family returning with no trace of fear
I see the long hard shadows of Calcutta nights
I see the sisters standing by the dying man's side
I see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor
I see the man with a passion come and kicking down the door
I see the man of sorrows and his long troubled road
I see the world on his shoulders and my easy load
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

- Sara Groves "When the Saints" (Tell Me What You Know)
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Wow! That song has power behind it. If you have not heard it, I recommend getting it on iTunes, watching a video of the song on YouTube, something. Man oh man!

So today is day 3 of my running adventure and I've realized a few things. One: no matter how many articles I read on The Runner's World, it doesn't actually make me a better runner. Two: I get so caught up in the final result, I don't set small, attainable goals for myself. Three: I need to learn to enjoy the journey.

I put those with the running, but really it's what God has been teaching me in life and this new venture of mine has just confirmed it. Let's start with lesson one. I realized I have a lot of books on prayer. More than most people I'm sure; however, reading about prayer, great prayer revivals, incredible men/women of prayer who saw major moves of God on their knees, doesn't make me a prayer person. Reading about it, doesn't produce powerful results that can only come from humbling myself before a Holy God and actually praying. I've also read a lot of books on how to share your faith, how to talk about God to different age groups; but reading about it doesn't actually bring someone to a life-changing knowledge of God. Reading about sharing my faith is not a substitute to actually opening my mouth and speaking of the God who rocks my world. So no matter how much I read, not that reading about these things is wrong, it doesn't make me better at the venture, it just makes my brain have to cram more stuff in it. I need to step out from behind the binding and open my mouth.

The second thing I've learned as I said is that I get so caught up in the end result, that I don't appreciate and set small goals. Once again, looking towards the goal is not a bad thing, but when it takes you away from smaller victories then I will always feel like I'm striving for an unattainable goal. I can strive to be a woman of prayer, but if I focus so much on wanting to be that, how much will I miss out on the person who needs just some who will pray now. I can strive to be a strong leader, but I may miss out of walking broken with someone who just needs a hand to hold on the journey as we go together. I'm learning to celebrate the moment and not just wait for the party.

The third thing, which I think is one of the biggest for me, is that I don't enjoy the journey. Today when I was walking/running with Josie and the 2 dogs, I kept taking a minute to just watch what we going on around me. Some things were as simple as when a large gust of wind would come, watching the fallen leaves blow all over the sidewalk in front of me. Other moments was watching how much Josie was enjoying going for a run with her big sister and watching it in how she looked at me. I am doing this thing most call life, and realized that very few times have I stopped to look at the things around me and make a mental picture of it. I thought today during my day date with Jesus about the people that I may not have said I love you too recently, who I have been thinking about often. It's little moments like that, I don't want to miss. I am learning what it means to be and enjoy the process.

On this Christmas Eve, whether you are opening gifts, spending time with family, or waiting for someone to get on Facebook so you won't be bored anymore, take the time to stop and smell the roses. God made them as a special gift for you today, so enjoy it!