What a 5K run?

I have decided that today is going to be an absolutely awesome day! Yesterday I went with my son to a 5K run which he was competing in. I had already decided to sit this one out due to a sore knee. Being that I knew many of the runners, I thought it would be fun to go and socialize. It was so nice to see first-time runners that had made the decision to change their lives and chosen this milestone to celebrate that choice. I saw some people that were overweight who had chosen a fitness task like walking and running to elevate their lives and self esteem. These people literally won the race regardless where they placed. 

There was one man in particular that stood out to me. At the end of the run while I was sitting down waiting for my son, this man sat down beside me and we struck up conversation about his life only a few short months ago. He was eating terribly, feeling worse, and his weight was beyond the healthy mark. He was on several medications for pain, depression, anxiety, blood pressure, etc. A short 11 months ago when he was at an all time low, he read an article about running and he made the life-altering decision that very day to try something different. Fast forward a few months, and see him now. He thinks he has lost around 80 pounds and he no longer takes many of the medications he was taking. He has confidence that he never had before and his life is so much better. He went from a can’t-do attitude to a can-do attitude. What about you?

What is stopping you from moving forward? Is it the pain of the past or the fear of the future? Have you been so accustomed to thinking you can't that believing you can would be like learning a new language? Has your life become so routine  that you have yourself convinced that you don’t have time to work on making yourself feel better? We can relate too many of these, I know, but it is the next one that is the meat of this reflection.

Does guilt and pressure keep you frozen in your tracks? I bet right this minute you are doing something that you wish you were not doing, but fear of hurting family or a friend is your excuse for being stuck in the mud. The guilt of moving on can be painful because your inner circle often wants to make sure you stay exactly where you are, where they are comfortable with you being. Breaking free of the life you have surrounded yourself with takes courage. Whether it’s getting out of that unhealthy relationship or leaving a job that constantly keeps in you in knots, change can be as painful as it is joyful. Let me make a statement here that is 100% true: "growth only comes through change". You simply cannot wait for the cows to come home or for someone to die or move away before you do the things you know you need to do. 

Do not let the pain of the past keep you from the fruits of the future. I cannot say that enough; it is that important. The wounds of yesterday become tomorrow’s infections if you do not clean and treat them today. To help get through the pain I also encourage people to stop lashing out with anger, hate, and revenge. Those things can cause a wound to spread like wildfire to the point it has you scarred for life. It is time we make the same decision the gentleman at the 5K did. Take back your life because you deserve the best you possible. Do not let guilt guide your path for that is work of Satan; let hope and desire shine light on the you of tomorrow for that is the work of the living Christ. 

I know that everyone hopes for a better tomorrow and in my simple mind I think for that to happen we have to make sure we get the most out of today. If you want your future to have a chance you have to believe in the power of the present. 

Are you ready? I think you are; I know I am. Remember this quote as you conclude this, "you do not have to be great to finish, but you have to start to be great". 

peace to you
Dale