#5kMay2019 Day 3 (BLOG)

Rain run! Jodi and the girls were able to get out and get their 5k in this morning before the rain set in. As for me… not so much. But no worries. I actually enjoy a good run in the rain.

I mentally approached today’s run as an “OFF” day. Haha. (When it comes to my personal #5kMay2019 journey, any day in which I run the minimum 3.1 miles is considered an “OFF” day.)

I didn’t care about speed, and I had already determined in my heart that I would not run further than the minimum 3.1 miles required by the challenge. As I often do, I spent most of my run with my Garmin GPS wristwatch simply displaying the cadence.

I ended up running exactly 3.1 miles in 22 minutes and 53 seconds, which was an average pace of 7:23 per mile. I felt great… and wet.

What a privilege it is to be able to get out and enjoy the morning while getting some exercise!

One game that I sometimes like to play with myself while I run is what I call “the telephone pole game”. On the last mile of my run, I alternated between running hard and running easy from pole to pole. When I come to the first telephone pole, I run hard to the next one. Then I run easy until the next telephone pole, then hard, then easy, etc. It is a fun little way to keep things interesting and get a bit of mini speed work in on an otherwise average run. You should try it!

The silly little game actually reminds me of life. There are seasons in which it seems that I am running really hard! There are other seasons in which it seems I am just moving along nice and easy.

One thing that I have found is that God is with me in both realities… When I am running hard, He is there. When I am just moving along nice and easy, He is there.

In Matthew 7, Jesus talks about a tree and its fruit.

…every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:17–20ESV)

The funny thing about a tree is that it is not always running hard. A tree, much like us humans, tends to experience difference seasons throughout its life. For much of its life, it doesn’t seem to be doing anything at all. Then, at just the right time, the tree begins to bear fruit and it enters into a harvest season. Then it seems dormant… then it bears fruit… etc.

The question isn’t whether we are running hard or taking it easy. The question is only: What kind of fruit are we bearing with our lives?

A good, healthy tree will ultimately bear good fruit. A bad, diseased tree will ultimately bear bad fruit.

Jesus, the one who sticks with us through every season, wants us to be the kind of people who bear good fruit. In fact, He has empowered us to do just that. He died so that we could truly live. He sent His Spirit to lead us and guide us and empower us to bear good fruit.

So take it easy… or run hard… whatever. Just make sure that you are doing it in such a way that God is glorified, and your life is ultimately bearing good fruit.