This morning I got a chance to run 22 miles with Abe Clark. Yes, I said 22 miles. Go ahead, take a few minutes and soak that in. 22 miles.
Now, more about who I was running with. Abe Clark is a guy who is running across the United States (www.runningwater.cc). He started in California and is ending in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He is running to raise money for Living Water International (www.water.cc).
In our run today I learned a lot.
I learned about what kind of limits my body really does have.
I learned about how mental running really is.
I learned about how conversation and friendship, no matter how new the friendship is, can take your mind off the aches and pains.
I learned that aches and pains are different than injuries (however, if we aren't careful those aches and pains can turn into injuries).
But I think more than anything I learned to walk up hills.
This might be a seemingly insignificant thing to learn with many differing opinions. So let me explain. Abe was telling me that since we were running such a long distance our pace was a bit slower than a half marathon or less. And in running this slower pace the difference between walking and running up a hill is minimal. However, running up the hill uses an extraordinarily larger amount of energy than walking. So, a ton of effort and energy really only has minimal payoff.
So I started thinking about other ways I put forth a ton of energy with a small amount of payoff. And I realized that's something we all probably need to consider in our lives.
I wonder if that is why scripture talks about the body of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 12). I think it would take a lot of wasted energy for a foot to be a hand.
Are you running up any hills that you should be walking?
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