Marathon Man Part 1

I'm going to run the London Marathon in 2010. Yup, you read that correctly. I AM GOING TO RUN THE LONDON MARATHON IN 2010! Lol. I have been thinking about it for a while and have been talking to some people about it in recent weeks. Some of their reactions ranged from a high-five "GO FOR IT"to peels of mocking laughter. Thanks!

Now, I don't want to over-spiritualise things but I did really pray about it too. As some of you will know, I'm not a great athlete so I needed a really strong conviction that it was the right thing to do and that I would be able to achieve my goal. Moreover, I did not want to give time, effort, energy, money, blood (hopefully not but those blisters can get bad!), sweat (bucket loads) and tears (come on, if it's not OK for a man to cry at the end of running 26 miles when is it?), to something God did not own. It matters to me. You will hear alot more about this in the coming months as God uses this whole experience to teach more some more amazing truths about being a Christian.

Unfortunately, I've already hit an obstacle - I've injured my foot! In recent weeks I have been doing some practice runs and really enjoyed it. For some reason, I came back from a run last week and my foot was extremely painful and I could hardly put any weight on it. I rested it for a bit and tried to go for a brisk walk last weekend but it deteriorated again so I visited my Doctor this morning. Annoyingly, he said I should rest it completely as I've probably strained a ligament/tendon.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!

Already I'm learning a valuable lesson about patience. This lack of patience is a weakness in my life as I like to get things moving quickly and see results. Hanging about when there is a job to be done is not my idea of fun. The recent sunny weather has also been ideal for running too. However, this is what I'm having to do now. I MUST rest my foot as continuing to stress it will only make it worse. Patience is important. There will be plenty of time to get training in the future. Some seasons of our lives can demand a far greater measure of patience from us than we want to give. Labouring in God's harvest fields, working day in, day out with people's issues and pastoral problems, disappointments, the daily grind of every day domestic life can easily become obstacles from the enemy designed to trip us up and knock us out. However, when patience is applied, we can remain strong and in good shape for future seasons of activity, growth and fruit.

I'm going to be running for Aid International. For more information please check out their website: http://www.aidinternational.net/