The 20 Mile Run is all I got done, but it was worth it

The 20 mile run was incredible. I cannot gush enough about how much I enjoyed it. Maybe it was the finally cool weather. Maybe it was that Ethan slept most of the night. Maybe it was that it was quiet at that hour of the night/morning when the traffic finally stopped (praise God people do actually sleep in this town!). I ran in the dark for a while which was actually fun because it felt like I was going super fast. I know these roads well enough to run without a problem. Round about mile 7 God put a song in my heart and I started to sing, yes, out loud. Crazy. I NEVER sing while I run. Usually, I have a hard enough time moving and breathing. It was only a little while but I sang because I was so thankful for the cross of Christ, I couldn't help it. People were starting to wake up and take their dogs out so I worried for a half a second about the "crazy" perception and then just kept about running and singing. God gave me a wonderful vision for running and praying for the people in the neighborhoods I was running past. I prayed they would wake up and go to church. I prayed that the remnant of Christ would wake up and live for Him. I prayed for my entire city to come to Christ (I ran through most of it).  What a gift for the Lord that made the miles fly by!

I have never run like this before, and I have never run this fast for this long either. Twenty miles is a long way to go but I was so happy at the end because I had found the reason that I was out there. To pray for other people. Usually, I'm far to self-absorbed and only pray for myself while running. Amazing how much fun it was to pray for other people! So simple, so true is Christ's love for us, and how fulfilling when we taste a little more of His goodness.

I made it to church after the run. Everyone was relatively clean and fed and happy at church. I struggle often with my attitude towards church in general and often feel I should not be let in the door, but today it was slightly better. Slightly is an improvement for me. I looked around, wondering how many people were there that I had prayed would wake up and come.

The rest of the day, the dishes piled up. We played outside instead of picking up toys. All the books were spread throughout the entire house. 500 clothes pins were pinned everywhere from our "Math" activity the day before. Really, it was a disaster. After a quick dinner, Kurt piled us all into the van to go for a evening hike at Alley Park. I could barely walk but how could I say no? I did nothing I was supposed to do yesterday. But maybe, I did. I don't know, but the 20 miles rubbed off a few more of my rough edges, even if just a little bit.