Complete Your Ideas

Yesterday I set out on a 60 minute run. I am now running toward a new goal, a new finish line. In November I will run the San Antonio marathon, as I have not run a full marathon since Brendon was 2 years old. I have come to enjoy running again and more than that it has become another path toward God and coming to know myself. Through running I have not only gotten in better shape, but I have been able to come to a clearer path toward God. Notice I said clearer, this implies that the path is not always clear.


Yesterday as I set out it was 5:30, it was dark. Now that my schedule has changed as a result of not having a traditional job, I no longer set out to go downtown, usually arriving by 6:00 to run around downtown and the Vanderbilt area. I miss those runs. Since I have established an early morning routine with running I figured I better continue it, I am following through on my plan. I was aware of my surroundings in a new way and ran in my familiar neighborhood until the light began to shine on a new day.

I began to think of incomplete ideas and plans, follow through, and immediately recognized this as an area I must pay attention to. This thought was sparked by watching a show that I find hilarious, "The New Adventures of Old Christine" with Julia Louise Dryfis. I have always loved her comedy as it connects to real, crazy, usually not talked about but often thought about, part of myself. Yesterday it was about starting plans and never finishing. I began thinking as I was running about all the great ideas, thoughts, and plans I have managed to bring to completion and those that have fallen by the waste side. Some of the thoughts I have been able to put into practice, this blog for one. It came to me one day as a way to chronicle my journey toward a life path and a spiritual journey. It has motivated me to keep in touch, I have come to depend on it as a way to deepen my relationships with others.

How many times do we in our own life have ideas, make plans, even go so far as sign up, and buy the equipment and then don't follow through. Exercise may be one of those activities. Of course I am not staying that all ideas are meant to be completed and require action on our part. Some thoughts are better left unsaid, undone and incomplete. It is the discernment of those things that I believe often keeps people from, as the Nike saying goes, "Just Doing It". It is our fear of our own failure, or even our fear of our success that prevents people from taking action. Sometimes things just don't turn out as we had expected and the natural response is to believe we were some how a failure. This is not the truth as I have come to experience. Some of my greatest failures have lead to some of the greatest successes. "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and to never harm you." This is one of my running mantras taken from the bible. Sorry to the Baptists and others who can remember the exact book of the bible and the verse number, my Catholic mind, which has never been grounded in memorizing bible verses as a regular practice, just doesn't seem to remember that detail. But what I do remember are the things that speak to me through meditation and prayer or daily life experience and I make a commitment to memorizing them. Running is an excellent opportunity to do this as you have many miles and lots of time depending on the length of your run, to commit to memory those things that speak to you on the road.

In the verse, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and to never harm you", I am reminded that I am not God. I cannot always know the reasons behind the actions I take, nor am I supposed to as then I am assuming the role of God. The important thing is to take the action. I always learn something. Either it is something I am to avoid or something I am to explore further. Taking action on the ideas that come to me allows me to deepen my relationship with my God, to help me to know myself in a deeper and more complete way.

So take off on your own journey whether it be running, waiting in the car pool lane, or sitting in church. Begin to write down the things that come to you in the daily routine of living your life. Meditate and pray on these things and take action. In this way you are fulfilling the role God intended for you.