My Running Epiphany...

5:15am...crickets still chirp at 5:15am. Postal workers, paperboys and truck drivers (and the McDonald's biscuit maker) are the only people functionally working at 5:15am. So what do I do at 5:15am? Logically, I would roll over and wait with baited breath for that last sweet hour of sleep. But no, I can't do the sane thing, no, I have to force myself out of bed so I can go...run. So 5:15am rolls around, I stumble out of the rack and get my running duds on. Lace up the runners and out the door I go...check the clock, 5:26...I'm early. So I go outside with the crickets and one barking dog. You know what? It's creepy outside at 5:26am. So, I wait on my neighbor, who has invited me to run with her. After all, why wouldn't she? I begged her to let me tag along! I can jog, right? I mean, I've been in boot camp for a whole week and a half, jogging should come naturally, right? So the neighbor emerges from her garage with iPod in hand...and has an absolute look of shock on her face. She actually says to me, "Well, I have to admit, I'm surprised". Do I take offense? Heck no, surprised? I'm shocked! So we walk at a brisk pace up the street, getting ready for our "run". The neighbor, by the way, has run 2 5k's and has been running since last spring. I occasionally walk the hood. So we top the hill, find the end of the street and begin our "run". You see, I have to put "run" in quotation marks, because I don't think that's what I did. At first I thought, I'll just keep a slower pace and follow behind. Slower pace my left foot. I ended up walking half of it...in the half that I jogged slowly (Iwould equate it to a hippo running -can hippos run?- in slow motion) I had an epiphany. It just popped into my mind as clearly as any epiphany I'd ever had. Chubby girls aren't made to run. That has to be it right? Otherwise I could do it right? So as the neighbor's sillouhette disappeared into the dawning morning ahead of me, I slowed down. I realized, right then and there, running was not for me. I admire the folks who can lace em up and pound out the pavement, miles at a time. But I don't think God made my body for running. I am good at other things, but that is not one of them. So, as I walked at a brisk pace, I watched my neighbor with facination. I honestly wondered, are her lungs just gonna jump right out through her throat (cause that's what mine felt like)? She looked like she was made to run...I look like am made to cook and eat. Moral of the story is this. Love your neighbor as yourself. No seriously, God made me who I am. He made me in His image and I am His creation. He loves me the way that I am. Yes, I will continually try to make the most of this brief life here on earth and treat my body with the respect that God's creation deserves, but I will no longer compare my abilities or disabilites (yes, I think my lack of running skills can be considered a disability...really, you should see me run :) to others. God created those folks (like my beautiful neighbor) to be to His liking, so I accept that now! I don't have to be like others to be complete in Christ :) I LOVE that! Not that I was comparing myself to my neighbor, but I had a desire to run, to be fit, to love running. Now I know...this chubby girl is not a runner :)