Lessons from the 5K and my friend

Today, I was blessed beyond measure to run with my Living Water Christian Fellowship brothers and sisters in the 5K race.

I ran with Matt as my pacing buddy. Somebody I knew who could dominate and destroy the target goal that I had of 24 minutes :-). But sure enough, he said that he'd run with me side by side so that I could beat my time. I admired that from the beginning - someone who practiced humility and sacrifice like we saw in Jesus - something we've been learning about all year.

In small group, we talked about how Jesus, who sits on the throne with God, humbly came down leaving all that He had just so that He could save us and show us the grace and mercy of God. What Matt did for me was minuscule compared to what Jesus did for me, but such a small act of love meant so much.

During the last mile, I was panting. I remember yelling, "Matt! Just go ahead of me! You go ahead!" And he'd firmly yet calmly reply back, "No, we're almost there Young! The finish line is almost there."

Amazing what words can do. Amazing what hope can do. "We're almost there" meant the world to me. I couldn't stop the battle that I was fighting because there was an end to this soon. This is like our race to God's kingdom - we have hope in God and His Kingdom and His promises. But what meant more to me than that bit of hope during that run was the mere fact that Matt was there, by my side, pushing me towards the end. Although he didn't carry me, I felt like I was being carried just by his presence. Just like how God sent the Holy Spirit :-). It keeps us going.

It's like feeling God's love channeled through my brothers and sisters in Christ. Although it's only a fraction of God's love, it's something that means a lot and something that I'll remember.

It's a challenge for me to live the same kind of life that Jesus lived :-).


EPILOGUE :-)
Living Water placed 3rd place in the 5k run, much to our surprise. What shocked me more was that when we were talking about our run, several people said, "All for God's glory." Amen :-). It wasn't our own ability that got us through, it was God's love.

I love learning about love :-).

Love Run

I took a run along the Schuylkill River today at 2pm.

It was hot, REALLY hot.

The whole time, I was listening to this one Korean ballard on my iPod. I'm a sucker for ballards - not the lyrics, but the music. I like the sound :-).

But I sucked at running today. Ten minutes in, I died. It could've been the heat...the time of day, lack of adequate rest. Who knows? But I struggled my whole way down that river to the museum. At the end of the run, the water fountain didn't work. I really needed water.

See, I didn't bring water with me because I thought I'd drink out of the water fountain at the end of the run, but what I had planned didn't come about. It made me think about my life and my plans in life - would they work out? Which then got me thinking about God and how He has plans for me. Then, while being reminded about my thirst, I remembered that Jesus promises to give living water :-), and I will never thirst again.

I ran down a little further and found another water fountain. Thank God :-).

I ran back listening to Christian music and reflecting on the power and love of God. For some reason, I had almost no trouble running back. Which made me think about how I had no energy while listening to the ballard, but on the way back, was fueled by songs reminding me of Christ's power and holiness.

My conclusion?
Ballards = love songs about..human love
Christian Music = love songs about God

God's love > Human love
God's love fuels, empowers, motivates, completes