I am not sure of your story, but running has always been spiritual for me. The commitment of pushing the body beyond comfort was obviously more than just something anyone does for fun.
In the summer of 1998 I learned to love running on the empty Memphis streets at 4 o'clock in the morning. Something about it fused with me deep inside my spirit.
During the fall of 1998 I was attempting to discern who I was after running had been so utterly wrenched from my grips. As a tattered and torn mess my life was difficult to recognize in the absence of running.
In the aftermath of this mess and in the winter of 1998 I embraced a life-changing relationship with God in an attempt to restore a disoriented and disturbed spirit.
Since that December so long ago, the journey to re-introduce running into this new life has been entirely and fantastically spiritual. The surgery. The lifelong friendships. The attempts to use running as a tool for the benefit of others. The places it has taken me. The pursuit of a bodily summit. Education. A wife.
What would my life look like if running had never been an integral part of forming who I am as a person? It is truly impossible to know just how drastically different everything would be.
Now that I am waylaid again as I wait for my body to heal, it is my spirit that must learn patience. Patience to learn how to define itself as this vessel that contains it puts the pieces back together. Patience in loving life beyond running once again.
The body is healing, I think. It is my hope I will be out there running fairly soon. It's been just around a month since my mountain marathon and close to three months since my knee started bothering me.
I put a video together of shots taken on my iPhone during the run. At the time this song by Mumford and Sons, "Hopeless Wanderer," felt appropriate. As I watch now I feel as though it somehow taps into my spirit and how running has become part of what connects me to the Holy Other.
When this body is done running it will all be alright. My spirit will continue to run even when my legs have given out.
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