Reason #887
Some days I feel like I am running on a treadmill. I'm working and I'm trying, yet I'm getting nowhere. Who am I kidding. I'll be honest with you, I don't run. I walk. Briskly walk, and no matter how long I walk, I end up no further than where I started.
I've tried running before. I hate it. I will run if I am being chased, and I'd consider it if I was going to get paid well to do it. Aside from that, I won't run. I don't care how good running makes your body look. I don't care how toned your legs may become or how flattens out your stomach. I don't run. I have made the decision to be a walker, one I do not regret. But when I really think about it, running does have one advantage. It gets you there faster.
Regardless of running or walking, when you're on a treadmill you don't get far. Sure, you may have covered a few miles, but the scenery hasn't changed. You end where you began, which is on the machine. It didn't take you anywhere. There was no adventure involved. You just put one foot in front of the other as the belt passed under your feet. You didn't have to watch where you were going. You didn't have to make any decisions about which path to take. You just moved your feet, and the minutes passed by.
I see why people get treadmills and never use them. Boring, right? But even though you get no where, things change. Your endurance grows, your stamina increases, your stomach might flatten out some, and your legs may very well shape up. When you started, it was hard to breathe. Now, you can breathe easily. At first, it was slow going. Now, you've picked up the speed. Ten minutes became 15 minutes, which turned into 30 minutes in no time at all. And, well, you may not have gotten where you thought you'd be, but you did get somewhere.
Sometimes the scenery doesn't change for a while no matter whether or not we're walking through it or running as fast as we can to get to a new place. Sometimes we just have to be there. We have to be in that spot. We have seasons where the scenery is amazing, and we're completely content with being there for a while. We also have those seasons that we have to endure. We don't want to be there longer than we have to, and it already feels like it has been long enough. But we can't get wrapped up in where we are. We can't simply focus on the unchanging scenery because that's when we start to lose hope. That's when we get discouraged and feel defeated as if things will never change. But they will. Things will eventually change. Yet, more than the changing scenery, you're being changed as you continue to press on. That's what's most important.
So keep moving. Keep putting one foot in front of the other at whatever speed you need to. And, if you're scenery isn't changing, that's okay. Know that it will and anticipate that. And until then, see the changes within. Allow yourself to grow, to be refined, to learn, and persevere. This is what faith is made of. Of hanging in there in when it's not so easy. Of trusting the Lord even if it seems you're not getting anywhere. Of believing that He has incredible things in store for you although you can't see it right now. The path may have boring and unpleasant spots, but it doesn't mean they're useless. This is a productive time. You might now know how, but it is. God will use this time, this place, this setting to prepare you for what's next. And one day, who knows when, the scenery will change. One day, you may very well step on to this incredible path of adventure, and guess what, you'll be better prepared for it. Your time on the treadmill will have gotten you there. Proof that it was well spent. So press on and when the timing is right, when God is ready to move you elsewhere, He will.
#887 - Because time on the treadmill prepares us for the next adventure.
"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." - Philippians 3:13-14
I've tried running before. I hate it. I will run if I am being chased, and I'd consider it if I was going to get paid well to do it. Aside from that, I won't run. I don't care how good running makes your body look. I don't care how toned your legs may become or how flattens out your stomach. I don't run. I have made the decision to be a walker, one I do not regret. But when I really think about it, running does have one advantage. It gets you there faster.
Regardless of running or walking, when you're on a treadmill you don't get far. Sure, you may have covered a few miles, but the scenery hasn't changed. You end where you began, which is on the machine. It didn't take you anywhere. There was no adventure involved. You just put one foot in front of the other as the belt passed under your feet. You didn't have to watch where you were going. You didn't have to make any decisions about which path to take. You just moved your feet, and the minutes passed by.
I see why people get treadmills and never use them. Boring, right? But even though you get no where, things change. Your endurance grows, your stamina increases, your stomach might flatten out some, and your legs may very well shape up. When you started, it was hard to breathe. Now, you can breathe easily. At first, it was slow going. Now, you've picked up the speed. Ten minutes became 15 minutes, which turned into 30 minutes in no time at all. And, well, you may not have gotten where you thought you'd be, but you did get somewhere.
Sometimes the scenery doesn't change for a while no matter whether or not we're walking through it or running as fast as we can to get to a new place. Sometimes we just have to be there. We have to be in that spot. We have seasons where the scenery is amazing, and we're completely content with being there for a while. We also have those seasons that we have to endure. We don't want to be there longer than we have to, and it already feels like it has been long enough. But we can't get wrapped up in where we are. We can't simply focus on the unchanging scenery because that's when we start to lose hope. That's when we get discouraged and feel defeated as if things will never change. But they will. Things will eventually change. Yet, more than the changing scenery, you're being changed as you continue to press on. That's what's most important.
So keep moving. Keep putting one foot in front of the other at whatever speed you need to. And, if you're scenery isn't changing, that's okay. Know that it will and anticipate that. And until then, see the changes within. Allow yourself to grow, to be refined, to learn, and persevere. This is what faith is made of. Of hanging in there in when it's not so easy. Of trusting the Lord even if it seems you're not getting anywhere. Of believing that He has incredible things in store for you although you can't see it right now. The path may have boring and unpleasant spots, but it doesn't mean they're useless. This is a productive time. You might now know how, but it is. God will use this time, this place, this setting to prepare you for what's next. And one day, who knows when, the scenery will change. One day, you may very well step on to this incredible path of adventure, and guess what, you'll be better prepared for it. Your time on the treadmill will have gotten you there. Proof that it was well spent. So press on and when the timing is right, when God is ready to move you elsewhere, He will.
#887 - Because time on the treadmill prepares us for the next adventure.
"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." - Philippians 3:13-14
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