I made a deal with God

I confess.  I made a deal with God.

I use to do this all the time.  "God if you do this... then I will do that..."  or even better, "If you get me out of this mess, I will never do it again, promise!"  I am sure we can all relate to that one!  I have learned now that this is not always the best approach to prayer.

Last night, Wade and I went on an evening run.  Before my feet even hit the pavement, I already had it in my head that I was going to do 8 miles.  Well, 3 miles into the run, I looked over at Wade who was bouncing with insane energy and said, "I think I have set my goal too high."  I was exhausted, discouraged and I felt just plain defeated.  I mean how am I supposed to do a half marathon in October if I can't even run 3 miles. Seriously.  At this very moment, I made a deal with God...

I can't say that it was immediate, but I can say that somewhere around 4 miles, Wade looked over at me and said, "You got your second wind."  That's when I knew that I was not going to give up until my feet literally fell out from underneath me.  By mile 5, I had smoked Wade.  This is how I knew that God was doing this.  You see, I am not a solo runner.  I have to run with a "talking buddy" if I expect to get any mileage in for the day.  By mile 6, I realized I was in robotic form.  Literally.  I found myself repeating the lyrics from a song, that had the words, "God is able" over and over and my pace was as steady as a clock.  So steady, that my body seemed to keep one position and that was a constant pace of running.   Honestly, wiping the sweat from my forehead, seem to bring more pain that actually running.  If I looked at the traffic beside me, my body would seem to stumble.  I began to pay no attention to anything around me.  My eyes were on the sidewalk, my mind was focused on God and my body was doing exactly what it needed to without very little effort. 

I ran 9.35 miles in 2hr. 9min. 24sec.

CRAZY!!! 

I stopped at the car and my body fell to the ground with thankfulness.  Wade finally caught up with me and when I saw his face I knew that he was amazed.  He honestly looked at me and said, "Who are you?!?!" 

So here comes the Glory.  I was replaying all of this in my mind today while I was soaking my still sore muscles.  Why was God so insistent in helping me with something so insignificant.  That's because He is a good God.  He wants to get all of the Glory in everything we do, even running.  I ran the farthest I have ever ran in my whole life last night and even exceeded my initial goal.  My body took form of a runner, my muscles yielded to what they needed to do and I was focused.  So how does this relate to my Christian walk.  If I can set a steady pace, block out all of the outside noises around me and focus my mind on a God who is willing and able, then I will stay on the course He has set for me.  Not only will I stay on the course, but I will finish the race beyond my own expectation and succeed at His. 

So God... You get all of the Glory.  You did this.  Not I. 

I do have to tell you...  my praises were soon distracted when I got out of the car and felt the sharp pain in my legs.  Reality of what my body had just done... was now settling in.  After a hot bath, an Ibuprofen and a long night's sleep, I woke up this morning and I felt like I had been hit by a Mack truck.

The "race" may make you sore, but the reward is much greater!