Your Situation is Comfortable
Running has taught me about situational awareness. My strides have taken me all over trails, roads, and sidewalks, all of which are shared with other people. So, staying aware of what’s going on comes in mighty handy when you want to run and live to tell the story!
I could tell there was a car coming up behind me but also sensed that it was slowing down. You can’t help but expect the worse when this happens but as I turned my head, I saw a familiar, friendly face asking if I was ok. I smiled and shook my head and kept going, happy that I didn’t make someone upset by simply running down the shoulder of the road.
Later on, I asked my friend if I really looked that bad that I needed help. I ask because it’s not too often that you see someone running and really enjoying themselves. There tends to be a look of pain or agony or at least intense concentration on the face of a runner. For an activity that has some health benefits it’s not always apparent that people are living their best life when they put the rubber on the road.
The answer I heard wasn’t that I looked terrible. Or like death. She was just being nice and asking…and then said that I always run like I’m comfortable! That’s pretty funny because while I might portray comfort and ease running is anything but that! Running is tougher on the muscles and joints than walking. Its vigorous. Our hearts and lungs work a bit harder than normal. We are burning up energy, but it comes at a cost, and that cost is comfort!
The good thing for me is while I have many decades of running in my legs, I have managed to do the most with the least. I’ve remained durable and dedicated. So, while I may not run quite as fleet as I used to, I am still in the game of running. Even though it’s a tough activity I remain steady in my pursuit of making uncomfortable miles work for my good. I don’t try to project making something easy, I am literally trying to make the hard strides more tolerable!
The idea of running makes many people uncomfortable. But in the big picture of life I think it’s an interesting concept…seeking comfort while we are doing uncomfortable things.
If I truly wanted to seek comfort all the time I wouldn’t run. But I do run and if I want to continue down this road I need to make peace with the fact that there will be difficult steps but there are also ways to navigate this that will provide a bit of comfort to my mind, body, and spirit.
The same day I did this comfortable run I had two conversations with guys that had no intentions of running. But both of them are receiving, and giving, an education in finding comfort in uncomfortable situations.
The first one was hit by a drunk driver 6 years ago. He has dealt with chronic pain ever since then and has had to navigate the world of insurance and settlements. So, while his body has been broken and has been patched back together, he has had to continue to work and find ways to receive specialty treatments for an accident that was not his fault. He was telling me about his latest scheduled appointment and how much it will cost, what he has to do between now and then, and all of the work he’s done while his spine is crumbling in his back and how little insurance has really helped him.
And then without warning he flashes a big smile, shakes my hand, wishes me well and says he needs to run his daughter to an appointment. He is running an uncomfortable part of life with comfort; his smile and eagerness to be a Dad proves that!
An hour later I am talking to the owner of an incredibly neat specialty garage near my house. He has cars everywhere and I’m sure a mountain of paperwork and phone calls me to make. But he stops his running around and shakes my hand. He asks me how I’m doing…and I know he’s the one that just finished his first round of chemotherapy for a blood cancer. I laugh because my problems are like walking to his cancer diagnosis running! But we had the chance to catch up a bit, share notes, and provide a little encouragement. And then he shook my hand and flashed the same big smile and went on his way, making customers happy by caring for their cars like only he can. Making the uncomfortable times comfortable.
God doesn’t guarantee comfort or a life of ease. In fact, He will most likely call us out into a time of discomfort…because that’s where He is! Those tough times do not prove that God doesn’t exist, it’s a call to lean in, lean on, and stride with God. Tough times and less than perfect circumstances are part of this time on earth whether we realize it or not. And those times give us a chance to decide where we are going to put our faith and effort.
It’s noticeable when we have comfort in the uncomfortable. Maybe I have that when I run. But I saw that when a broken-backed automotive painter shook my hand and went strolling out of a garage in pursuit of his dad-life. And I saw that when a content and authentically curious car guy genuinely asked how I was doing.
You can be anyone in any circumstance and manage to have comfort in the uncomfortable. God provides that ability through His grace. His awareness to your situation is not a surprise. His grace is sufficient. His prescience of comfort allows the runners to run, the broken-bodied to walk, and the cancer-laden to love on passers-by. He is life when despair and down and out rule the day.
