Lessons from jogging

After a long period of being unable to run due to long-healing foot and ankle issues, I have recently resumed jogging and I am rediscovering the satisfactions that accompany it (along with the fatigue factor!). It occurred to me that there are two lessons from jogging that I have discovered. First, the easiest way to jog in an unfamiliar place is to jog out a certain route and the return along the same pathway, in reverse. That way you can't get lost and you have a good idea of how far you are from your starting point at all times. If you apply this first lesson, the second lesson follows. What goes up must come down and what goes down must come up! When you run back the same way you ran out, the hills on the way out become downslopes on the return side and downward trails on the way out become hills on returning. In life, it is also important not to get lost when we are in unfamiliar territory and I believe that every day we live we are in new and somewhat unfamiliar territory. So it makes sense to start out with Jesus with our side at the beginning of the day so that we can return with Him alongside at night. And when we run into hills on the way out we can look for relief on the return as we remember what we have learned as we scaled the tough climbs. And when we coast on the way out we can be confident that there will be lessons to learn from covering the same ground on returning. God gets great mileage out of our journey...whether we are going uphill or down or when we travel the straight paths and enjoy the scenery, He will keep us from getting lost when we travel out and back with Him and we will grow from the challenges and rejoice on the downslopes.

Blessings as you travel this week!

Psalm 121:⁷ The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
⁸ The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.

Rob Smith