Jonah
tried to run away from God. The result? He was swallowed by a fish. That’s a
pretty convincing reason to not run away from God, isn’t it?
While we
did in fact discuss the story of Jonah in bible study this week, this blog is
not about Jonah. No, this story is not about running away from God, it’s about
running WITH God.
Little
known fact about myself (ok, ok, ok, WIDELY known fact): I have an over active
imagination and a vividly visual mind. Though sometimes a bad combination, this
allows me to physically imagine Jesus and interact with him in person.
Example:
A few years ago, I went for a long bike ride. Poor life choice for numerous
reasons:
1.
I
hadn’t biked in years and decided to start with a 20-mile ride.
2.
I
tore my hamstring 2 months earlier.
3.
I’m
ultra competitive. There happened to be an old man that as I was just about to
pass, decided to speed up. And I may or may not have “raced” him for 6 miles.
4.
It’s
also possible that another man convinced me to “catch his draft” (AKA- try to
stay within 6-12 inches of a man who must have ridden in the last
tour-de-France).
All of
which to say that with about a mile or two left, I was extremely tired.
It was at
this point that I turned to my left and “saw” Jesus on a bike next to me. The
following conversation ensued:
Jesus: Let’s race.
Me: RIIIIGHT. Because THAT’S fair.
Jesus: I will never leave your side.
Me: I’m WAAAYY too tired and have no more strength.
Jesus: I give you your strength.
Me: FINE.
A very
simple interaction, to be sure, but profound none-the-less. Was I just
imagining Jesus and His responses, or was He actually talking to me? I prefer
to believe that it was a genuine interaction; that He “spoke” to me. Mostly
because as creative as I am, I cannot credit myself for engineering his perfectly
crafted responses. I wish I could say that this sort of thing happened often,
but it rarely does, and only when I seem to be completely and utterly worn out
(either physically or emotionally).
This past
weekend was one such time. On Saturday, I, for some unknown reason, thought it
would be a good idea to run a marathon. In addition to that, my grandfather
passed away last week, and I ended up leaving the first memorial service and
driving straight to Indianapolis for the marathon. Physically and emotionally
drained? Double check.
I find
that it’s when I’m most drained that Jesus shows up the most. This marathon was no exception.
Jesus ran with me the entire race. (He actually ran in place of me for the last
6 miles, because at that point my legs could go no more.)
I’d like
to say that Jesus and I had a heart to heart during those 4 hours. I’d like to
tell you that I had deep and profound thoughts, but in reality, my mind was too
tired to think about anything except for the fact that I was running, and that
I was going to be running for quite some time.
However,
I wouldn’t change this experience for anything, because the truth is this: Jesus
and I simply spent 4 hours together. I’ve heard it said that the measure of a good
relationship is how comfortable you are in the silence. Jesus and I didn’t need
to talk, we didn’t need to discuss the minute details of the scriptures. We
simply spent time together. And I think that’s what Christianity should be all about.
