Running 26.2 Miles is the Easy Part

Sunglasses day at our house is always a trip. As you can see from these increminating photos, we have strong personalities at our house. Vivid, opinionated, creative, and head-strong people live here. Did I mention that three of them are 6 years old and under? Think "high need and high speed." This is why, while running for a quiet, blessed hour by the Ohio River and surrounding hills, I realized that running 26.2 miles is the easy part. Seriously, it is.

The discipline of training takes exertion, yes. The mileage is long, given. But running for almost 4 hours straight is nothing compared to the all out sprint of daily living. Truly. Running the Columbus Marathon in October is going to beautiful! Tons of cheering spectators clap and shout encouragement. Bands and Bubble machines line the streets. People pick up the cups after me and cater to my every whim. For 3 hours and 40 mins all I have to do is run. Do you start to see why this is sounds very, very appealing to me? I do not have to speak unless I want to, which I probably won't be able to any way and I won't be seen as rude. I can enjoy the sights. I can run my heart out trying to qualify for Boston. This is the easy part.

The hard part is keeping a thankful heart the day after camping, again, when everyone screams, forgets all the rules, and takes all the labels off the cans we just purchased (thankfully it was all artichokes only). The hard part is reminding my children to love each other and not scream back at them in the process. The hard part is nursing a teething, 15 month old toddler and training for a marathon while not eating any wheat (long story). The difficult part is leading small defiant people to Christ every day in my own home.

With these vibrant personalities, which are currently in time out for biting each other, I am continually blessed to see God's love for us. I am amazed and thankful and greedy just like my children are for more love and patience from the Father.  I decided that I will enjoy every step of this difficult season because hopefully God will run off some of my rough edges along the way. And I am so looking forward to those long 26.2 miles in Columbus...