Run
I know where I'm going. I know what taking these first steps will feel like. I stand there, anticipating the wind in my hair, the sun on my face, and the exhilaration in my blood.
There is fear and there is excitement and then there is joy. Joy for this path I'm about to explore and run on.
There is a moment of silence and reflection of things past. I smile, for I am grateful to be where I've been and to be where I am.
Everything around me stills and then with a quiet sound of rushing wind....go! My feet take off. I am running! I run on a beautiful path where the clouds above are a glorious new white and where the sun is shining bright. This part feels like flying. I'm running so fast, my feet barely touch the ground.
As I run, I encounter obstacles and challenges in my path.
As I run, I meet many fellow runners, all running on their own paths near me.
As I run, I experience great beauty, love, and joy.
My journey is hard and it's real. It's a time to cry and a time to laugh. It's a time to grow and a time to learn. It's a time to talk with my Best Friend, Father, and Lord. This is a beautiful, exciting, and amazing run. It's a lifetime path and yet it is short.
My heart falls in love with this run. I have given my all to the people and places I've encountered. I've learned to love this new path. I've learned to love the wind, rocks on my path, and even the hot sun. I've learned to love the rain and the clouds. I've learned to love the sunrises and sunsets.
And then, after my heart has clung so deeply to this path...I wake up.
It's quiet and calm as an all too true reality hits. It's over. The run, the path, and everything that went with them is behind me.
Something inside whispers, 'Get up and run again.' But another voice in me says 'Stay.' I mourn the loss of the beautiful path.
"No, no," whispers the Something inside. "you haven't lost, the victory is yours. Get up and run again."
I get excited for a moment because in the Voice there is hope.
Truth sounds so good.
But then I remember why I don't want to run again. Running reminds me of the path I was on. The path where my Best Friend was.
"I am still here. I am still yours. I will never leave you."
The Something inside can only speak the truth.
"Wake up love. Wake up and run...to Me."
Though I want to sleep and all my feelings are urging me to say no to my Best Friend--Something greater inside calls my spirit up--here it is!
I see it.
It is the joy of running.
NOT to missions, not to friends, not to Oregon, not to Thailand, not to YWAM, not to a husband, not to a future, but to Him. To the Something inside, to my Best Friend. And that is a path I can run on every day, no matter what happens to me.
Again He speaks.
"Wake up and RUN."
I jump! I leap out of bed, shove my shoes on my feet, and run. Nothing stops me. There is more joy on my face and love in my heart than there is on a mom's face who watches her newborn baby sleep. The anticipation is too much for words. I run this new path with reckless abandon because everything else, every condition, every worry, every doubt ceases and only one thing remains.
It's Him.
There He is! Glorious light surrounds Him, the sun, the sky, and the clouds all declare His glory. I pause for just a moment at the sight of Who is before me.
And then I run to Him, so overjoyed and beyond excited that the tears fall and my heart jumps and the smile on my face is too big to even describe. I jump into His arms.
The warmth in His eyes and the touch of His nail scarred hands is too great for you to even imagine. Just His voice calms the storm.
His voice speaks to me.
"You are home."
Finally!
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This is the joy of running. The joy is running with Him. It's running to Him and continuing to run with Him. It's learning to love the wind, rocks on the path, and even the hot sun. It's learning to love the rain and the clouds, the sunrises and the sunsets.
So for you, run.
Run on whatever path He calls you on. Here it is. The truth. The beautiful path I was on was a wonderful path but there are more paths to which I am called to run. People to meet and lessons to learn. Places to go and hearts to uplift. He has much in store and many paths for me to run.
He is Light and He wants you to take the Light in your heart and the Love in your eyes to your home and the to the ends of the earth. Listen to His call to run but never forget Who you are running to. Run, not to people or to experiences or even to the future, but run to Him. For in Him is satisfaction. In Him is purpose. In Him is life. It will never get better than that. And He is worth it all.
~Ash
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