Why I run...

So, if you know me, you know I am preparing to run my first (and probably only) 1/2 Marathon soon! I am hoping just to survive the experience but am looking forward to seeing all this hard work 'pay off' (i.e. I finish the 13.1 miles!). 'Meredith' you ask 'why do you want to do this? you are not a runner?'. Right you are! Even the fact that the registration form/waiver says "athletes signature" kind of freaks me out because I am by no means an athlete. I do have my reasons for running and I thought I'd share them! Besides the 'check it off the bucket list', here is why I really run. Because I can. I am not trying to be glib or sassy in saying that. I run because there was a time when I couldn't. To spare you a very long story, when I was a freshman in college I got really really sick with a lung infection. It wasn't exactly life or death but required surgery and 9 months of medication and it left my lungs weakened and me unable to work out much at all, let alone run. I was never really a 'runner', in grade school I could run the mile without too much effort but I was never the fastest or the slowest. But when I COULDN'T do something it made me mad. I couldn't hold my breath underwater for as long when swimming, I couldn't do 20 minutes on an elliptical without being sick, couldn't run 1/4 mile without stopping, etc. With my personality, if you tell me I can't do something you might as well have told me I have to. So between grad school, having a baby, etc I've never made found the time to train. Having a toddler really doesn't help in the extra time department but I decided that before I am no longer 30 I want to finish this goal! This whole goal makes me think of the verse from Hebrews 12 "...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Not just because of the word race, but because of the persistence and time it has taken to get to the point of being ready for the race. I wish I would set my eyes on Jesus and put the same effort into my pursuit of him. I would desire to spend time thinking on him, studying him, learning about him. However, just like in my pursuit of the 13.1, I often let other things get in my way and don't prioritize my time. I don't want someone or something telling me "you can't" to help shift my priorities. I want my love and desire to worship our Savior to capture my time! I want my time, words, and actions to reflect what is important to me. That is why I run. That is why I will continue the race with perseverance.