Healing

     I was just about to re-hash my post from last night-- one that got deleted-- about my strained foot tendon.  (RELATED: see my rant).  It had been an eloquent piece on how I had lost lost some appreciation for running until my recent run on Monday.  During that run, I just let it go and had some fun.  Unfortunately, that was also when I tweaked my foot enough to finalize the damage from the indoor track last Saturday. I spent three days working out at the gym, which doesn't seem like long, but greatly insults the hardcore image I have built up in my head.  Worse, it degrades the already wimpy image of a distance runner.
     I was getting angry that I kept praying for healing and my foot wasn't even getting better.  However, I tried to step out of my own view and consider how God might be using the experience.  Right away, I realized that my time at the gym was making me yearn even more for a trail run outdoors, regardless of how bad the weather was/ is.  I am so grateful for running because although it's just an activity for some, it's a way I communicate with God.  When I run, I am the way he made me: fast and free, joyful, listening for his voice. Up until Monday though, I'd been going through the motions for the most part.  God really used these few days to show me a greater appreciation for the gift he's given me.

     You know what else?  I finished that post last night, wrapped up my evening, and headed to bed.  After waking up this morning: I can walk on my foot!  No pain!  Praise God-- both last night and this morning!
     Aside from being grateful for running, this experience has also shown me just how grateful I should be to work alongside God.  He lets me be part of learning experiences like this, he loves me enough to grow me rather than just let me be.  That is something so powerful, yet so overlooked, in daily life.  I think we sometimes view it as a cop-out, a reason that the difficult things are really "good things," so God essentially is off the hook.  How mixed up is that?  Who am I to judge what is good or bad, especially from a finite moment.  He is looking at the infinite and is looking to bless me.
     I hope that you take time to be thankful for the things God uses to grow you today.  I am sorrowfully aware that not everyone enjoys running, but I'm sure there is a gift you enjoy every day without much thanks for it.  Take the time!  I remember after a bad race once, my dad finally answered to my complaining: "You know, there are kids in wheelchairs who aren't able to run, kids in other countries who aren't given the opportunity to run, kids who will never race like you do."  Boy, did that lay on the guilt-- and for a good reason!  Take the time to be thankful for the talents and passions God has given you today, and for the opportunities he gives us to come alongside the work he's doing in our lives.