Week 3

"My refuge and my fortress

my God in whom I trust." (Psalm 91:2)



Two times this past week these words from Psalm 91 helped me get through difficult points in my runs. On Thursday a 5 mile run at Marathon pace was on the schedule. There was snow and ice on the ground and it was cold on Thursday morning. I set out on my 5 mile route from my house over to Lake Mendota drive (which is really hilly) along the lake into Shorewood and then back home via the bike path. It was a 5.2 mile course and I made it to the 5 mile mark in 49:10, which is exactly my hoped for Marathon pace of 9:50. The last couple of miles were tough but instead of focuing on my sluggish legs and labored breathing I started saying this verse with my breathing. Focusing on the words and not on my thoughts helped me stay focused through the challenge. When I reached the 5 mile mark and realized I reached my goal I was elated. I did it!



This morning it was a 10 mile run - my longest run yet. The first 6 miles were pleasant, running with Bob, who's training for the Boston Marathon and ran 16 miles this morning, and LuAnn who's training for the Lake Mendota 20K. We ran in the Arboretum and after one loop all went our separate ways - Bob to finish his run, LuAnn headed for home and I started on the final 4 miles of today's run. The first mile or so was down hill and flat. The last 3/4 of the second mile was uphill, turn around and repeat in the opposite direction. Some downhill, some straight away ending with a long 3/4 mile uphill stretch. The final uphill section was tough and once again the mantra kept me focused to finish these 10 miles in one hour and 50 minutes.


As I was running this morning I was thinking of how grateful I am to have stumbled on this little technique of using scripture verses to distract me from the voices in my head that would really love it if I'd quit when the going got tough. The repetition of scripture occupies my brain with something positive so my body can do what it needs to do.

I don't imagine that God needs my little mantra as much as I do. I do imagine that God appreciates the way in which I reach out to her, my refuge and my fortres, my rock in whom I trust, throughout my days and whenver I need a refuge, a fortress or a rock in the storms of life.


This is one of the main gifts of faith in life. Our faith and the ways in which we exercise our faith gives us resources for the long and often challenging training run that is life. Throughout life, hopefully, we grow in faith, we train our spiritual muscles in worship, prayer, study and relationships with others. Then when the going gets tough the resources are there to focus us and keep us moving one step at a time until we make it through the difficulties and can run again on smoother ground.


A deep and abiding, active and alive faith is how the people of Haiti manage to stay as positive as they are. Encountering their faith in the midst of the numerous and extremeley challenging day to day reality of their lives was the most humbling and the most inspiring aspect of my time there in February, 2009. In the midst of unbelievable poverty people go about their daily lives, and even when they don't have nearly enough for themselves they share what they do have with others. And at the core of it all is a strong and vibrant faith in God, the refuge and fortress, the one in whom they trust. I learned from the people of Haiti I encountered that no matter how difficult life is God is with us in the midst of it. God is yearning for our healing, yearning for a vibrant, rich, meaningful life for all of God's children and crying out for justice on behalf of those who struggle too hard and too long just to have the basic necessities of life.

Thanks be to God who runs with us, who walks with us, who dwells with us through all the ups and downs of life. Amen.

Catch ya next Saturday!

P.S. I added the tents to haiti website to this blog page - check it out and make a donation if you're able.