What? Not another race report filled with pics and boring clichés? Go ahead. Sue me. Chastise me. Unfriend me on Facebook. (Actually you can't because I don't do FB.) That said, I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with this report because I had to put my iPhone away due to the weather. (I don't like wet cameras.) You might not know this, but my least favorite pastime is running in the rain. It's even worse when you hear the sound of thunder in the distance. I did, however, get these pics:
By way of reminder, last night by God's grace I finished my 41st half marathon. This meant I got to experience once again the joy of having to walk upstairs last night backwards because I had run 13.1 miles nonstop. I say "joy" intentionally. Years ago I made a promise to myself to ditch the easy things in life. Don't pretend you haven't experienced or felt the same way. Don't act like you're always satisfied with the status quo either. Is there anything in life that excites you? If you truly want to, then do it -- despite the thunderstorm, the humidity, the bugs, the pain. Do not check in with your body and decide that you are too tired. Do not look at your calendar and decide that you are too busy. Otherwise you'll find yourself in the same old rut. Do the opposite. This is your life. Stop rushing through it. Indulge in the little God-given things that make you happy.
By the way, one of the best ways to help yourself is by helping others. I know some churches whose motto is: Love God, Love Others. I might tweak it this way: Love God Back, Serve Others First. Live that kind of a life and you will never have any regrets. Show it to your kids. Hopefully they will thank you for it later. In church this morning we were in Ecclesiastes 3. I love the two words (both in Hebrew and Greek) for the concept of time used here.
The idea behind kairos is "opportunity." I'm praying, perhaps as never before, that God would make me sensitive to that moment, that opportunity, when someone I meet, someone I know, or maybe someone I've never met before, will be open to the gospel and that I'll have the privilege of sharing with them the love of God. This opportunity can appear anywhere but it often does at running events, and I am very grateful for that. People need the Lord! Reach out to them in ways appropriate to your own giftedness. Love them, Jesus said. Love them until they ask you why.
So that's my "report." My next race Lord willing is the UNC Health Sprint Triathlon in Wake Forest, then the Ashland Half Marathon, and after that the historic Virginia 10-Miler.