The other day, while still in Kiev, my dear friend Helen and I went running. She loves running and has been sly enough to convince me to go with her a few times thus far on the race. When we run together we usually both pop in our ipods and set out together, but end up running at different paces.
Helen and I are different people with different heights and strides, making it fairly natural to run at different paces. We were chatting about our different paces and Helen expressed how my stride affects her when she runs. She said that if I am ahead of her she tends to feel less motivated to catch up and runs slower, but when I am behind her it spurs her on to run faster.
This conversation got me on the train of thought of our spiritual walk. The community around us really can affect whether we are spiritually walking, jogging, or sprinting. Recognizing what helps spur us on and what hinders us, and communicating that to the people surrounding us can make a huge difference in our spiritual growth.
It is important to recognize at what pace we are pursuing the Lord in our lives, but it is equally important to look around at those who are running with us. We might be moving at different speeds, but as long as we’re moving and we’re moving together, God will continue to grow us.
Speaking of running here’s an old throwback picture of one of the few times I’ve actually run a race,
accompanied by my brother and Dad.
