Running...

I ran my first 5k yesterday. Really, a 5k isn’t that long of a race. 3.1 miles, or in my case, 3.05 miles does not prove a monumental task. As I was standing behind that line with a group of very diverse people, I questioned my motives. Why on earth would I intentionally get up at 6:00a.m. on a Saturday morning, shirk my academic responsibilities, and come run a race I knew I would not win? As I fought through that seemingly never-ending race, I answered my own question. I ran for a number of reasons. I ran because of the people that want so badly to run but don’t have the ability. I ran because of a football player whose life ended unexpectedly. I ran because of the countless families battling with a force called cancer. I ran because I am not guaranteed tomorrow. I ran because I knew I was making myself better. I ran because God gave me the strength to do so. I ran because I never would have seen myself doing what I was doing at that moment a year ago. I ran because I’m changing. I ran because I am forcing myself to strive for new things. Those reasons, along with many more, coerced me to finish that race.

I don’t know where I’m going. I have no idea at all. The beautiful thing about that is I can follow the One I love blindly. I didn’t know why I was at that starting line before I began running, but as I stepped across that finish line with sweat dripping down my smiling face, I had it all figured out. I’m starting to fully understand the meaning of the phrase, “Life is about the journey.” I may not know what direction my life is going to take, but as I progress, the situations and hardships I go through will continue to define me. I think I might try a 10k next. Who knows what epiphany will strike me as I cross that finish line.