20 Jun A lamp to my feet
For a while now, I’ve had this message on my heart to share, but honestly, I just haven’t made it a priority to create the time to sit and write all the thoughts into something that makes sense. But again yesterday, on my morning run, I felt the nudge to make the time. So here it is, and I hope it helps you in some small way.
If you’ve been around here for long enough, you’ll know that I love to run. I haven’t called myself “a runner” until recently though, which is a story for another day! Anyway, I love to run with other people. Those “other people” are generally a group of ladies, and we chat about anything and everything from what we’re making for dinner, to the latest world news. I find this time so energising, even though is it sometimes before sunrise, with headlamps and reflector belts. It’s about so much more than all the benefits we know about exercise. It is a time to understand different perspectives, build connections and provide and receive support and encouragement. I also found that meeting others for a run held me accountable to get up and go.
For a few months now though, we’ve struggled to align availability and routines to run together as often as we did in the past. Initially, I just skipped those runs and replaced them with another form of exercise. But with some big running goals for this year, I had to get back to it, with or without my girls. It was slower and felt like each step took an eternity, without the distractions of all the chatter solving the worlds problems, but it eventually became more familiar to run on my own. Now, sometimes I run with music in my ears, sometimes a podcast. Other times I run with my husband or with our dog, with nothing but the sound of my own thoughts and the traffic. And some weeks, I’m still lucky enough to run with one or some of the girls. Then a few weeks ago, I realised that these new types of runs (the ones that were initially very difficult to do but have now become more familiar and comfortable) are times when I felt encouraged, inspired, supported and guided through the words of a song, by the conversation in a podcast or by God’s response to my anxious thoughts and prayers. These things have been a lamp to my feet.
A couple of things have happened here in this running transformation of mine.
The first is that I was able to craft a new running routine, even though it initially felt difficult and unfamiliar. I didn’t have anyone waiting for me at the gate, in the dark, but I had to dig deep to find the discipline to do it by myself anyway. It didn’t always happen in the mornings, which is my preferred exercise time, but I am now more motivated to put my running shoes on in the late afternoons, even though a glass of wine while supervising reading homework is tempting. There wasn’t always the chatter to keep me distracted, but the silent runs, the music-listening runs, or the podcast-listening runs are now familiar and comfortable. It took a bit of time, there was a bit of friction to get going, but eventually, it’s become my new normal.
The second thing is the lamp to my feet part. Our family has been in a season of change, of celebration, of deep concern, of loss, of new life and of all the normal things in life with two working parents with three young kids. The words of songs, the conversations and nuggets of wisdom in podcasts, the responses to my own thoughts and prayers have been God’s encouragement, guidance and reminders. They have been a lamp to my feet. Not a spotlight that shines over the whole path ahead, which would remove the uncertainty and make the path a whole lot easier to navigate, but just a lamp, providing just enough light to be able to see where to place the next step.
So, the message on my heart is this – lean into the things that might feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable. In the transformation, there is learning and there will be a light. It’s a lamp to your feet, guiding the next right step.
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