A Thought here, Another There

The problem with blogs is that I most of my thoughts are not polished enough to be read by people. So over the past month, I've given many entries a thought and have even drafted a few, but then deleted them, because I was unhappy with the wording.
Perhaps I've sensed that while many of my thoughts are interesting in the moment, I tend to lose interest a day or two later (maybe even an hour!)

As some of you know, I've been getting into running quite a bit. This weekend, I'm going to be running in the Fall Classic which is a 16k race along Ada Blvd. In the past 10 years, as I've worked in the church, the vast majority of my friends have been part of the church; for most of that time, I've wrestled with the guilt of feeling the need to be connected with people beyond the church community, but have honestly not desired to. This running deal has changed that considerably. I like the running, don't get me wrong, but it's the new friendships that have developed that really keep me going. I'm pretty sure there is no way at all that I'd be running 16k by myself!
My hope has been that God would use me in whatever way he wants to in the lives of people I run with. For the most part my focus has been on having fun and enjoying my time with my new group of friends. There's not agenda at all for me, and that's the honest truth. It's a much needed diversion from life at The Canopy, which I love deeply, but which cannot be the only dimension of my life. I've recognized that in this season of my life, God has created this group of friends as a shelter and distraction for me. I certainly didn't set it up myself!

Running has also be a significant source of inspiration for me about our spiritual lives. I see so many parallels between physical health and spiritual health. I'll probably develop some of that thinking here.

So for now here's to running 16k this Sunday.
I'll let you know how it goes!