Taking Inventory

Hullo. I know many people take inventory of their lives--personality, relationships, goals, fitness, financial state, etc--at the turn of the year. I am blessed (??) to be at the whim of my constantly churning mind which does a pre-scheduled (the schedule of which is unknown to me until it happens) accounting of all of the above. It did it this week. I suppose it was the combination of Thanksgiving and my birthday.

The inventory totals are still computing and configuring, but the preliminary results are out. Here are some of them:

I always tell my boys that no matter what, you can ALWAYS find something to be thankful for. Always. Even if it is that the day will end. I have SO MUCH to be thankful for. So much.

I need to work on fading away into the background. I know this seems paradoxical to say, but it is the only way that my needs are met and that there is peace in my heart. It's a mystery, I know. And a constant battle to push on to that spot. But to there I must go. To nobody land. There has been too much of me on parade lately.

I'm reminded that my first charge is to be a wife and a mother. It is also the place that gets me most quickly to nobody land if I'm doing that job right. So back to the grindstone with that.

Although I meet God intensely in some of the adventure and excitement of life, it is in the ordinary, mundane, everyday affairs that He takes his chisel to me to keep filing off the rough edges. I need to stop fidgeting and sit patiently so He completes His work in all faithfulness.

We all suffer. I want to be even better at encouraging others in the midst of theirs, in spite of my own.

And finally albeit more lightly in some ways, I'm reminded how much I love to run. It reminds me of the gift of my health. I imagine the breeze on my face as the physical touch of God. And I want to keep doing it for as long as I can. I'm only in my middle late 30s, for Pete's sake, so I will continue to go. (Did 5 miles today in low 30-degree weather--starting to brace for the real winter cold. Next goal at this point is a half marathon in St. Louis in April. We'll see.)

Thank-you, God for my faith. For my family. For my friends. For all of the random strangers you put into my life that teach me things about humanity and about myself. Let's go for another 37 years, shall we?

Pic from the Half Marathon

Thought you'd like to see an action shot of me approaching the finish line of my first ever half marathon. My eyes are closed. I think I'm praying to make it to the finish!

I'm already looking forward to a long race again next year. Maybe I'll go for a full marathon.

I Love to Run

Well, I ran a full 6 miles today, 7 total with warm-up and cool down--the first time I've done that in about 6 weeks since dealing with a running injury.

I remembered how much I love to run--the sound of my breath in my ears, the feeling of dampness on my shirt from my sweat, the crunch, crunch, crunch of my feet hitting the asphalt/gravel, the feeling that my body is doing efficiently what God designed it to do.

Mr. Bluebird who landed just above me as I went by, the squirrel who raced me on the electrical line, the beauty of colorful late summer native Wisconsin weeds, the air heavy with their sweet smell.

Walking into my house to the sound of my crazy barking dachsund, the smell of coffee and of french toast and sausage.

It's good to be running again.