I’m not a runner. Never have been, but hopefully maybe will be someday. I’m not an athlete. I’ve never been athletic. Never. That just isn’t me. It isn’t how I was raised. I’m not competitive. I could care less what team wins or what team I play on. (If I ever actually do play a sport. 😉 I tell you this because what you’re about to read shouldn’t be read coming from a runner, an athlete, or a competitive person. It’s from someone who has struggled her whole life to be comfortable in tennis shoes.

I went running last night. Well, ralking…or wanning? Wunning? Rulking? I started Ease into 5k for the… third time? and plan on actually finishing this go round. But this was the first time out of all those times I’ve exercised that it became a worshipful experience for me. A chunk of time that I could use to praise my Savior. Shocked? Yeah, me too! Like, who uses panting and sweating and adjusting that too-big-t-shirt-as-it-sways-in-the-wind as a way to glorify God? Seriously.

In all the times I’ve started (<<anchor of this sentence) running (ralking; see above) I’ve dreaded it. Well, except for that one time that I kind of enjoyed myself? But then took out my headphones and realized how hard I was breathing and how hot I was in that God-forsaken gym without air conditioning. But this time… oh this time! I was relaxed. It was in the 70s, a rarity for Texas in June. It was the magic hour and the sun was so beautiful through those trees I wished I had the DSLR.

In the Ease into 5k app you have to make a playlist. I chose all the songs I thought would inspire me to “be a runner”, but what does a non-runner know about picking a runner’s playlist anyway? I did my best. I had all but finished the workout as best I could when the song came on. You know the one. The one that makes you visualize yourself on a stage, mouthing all the lyrics in time and strumming that imaginary guitar even though you’ve never had a lesson. The one that pushes you to go on even though you really can’t. That song that has that great build up towards the end that gives you goose bumps so you know—you can do this.

The song brought me into a state of worship. And I finished. With all my breath. Relaxed and able to make the walk back home without a problem. Even though my mouth tasted like grass and sweat and all I could think about was drinking anything to get that taste out. I worshiped and forgot what I was doing. I wanted to run in that moment, which was ghastly contradictory to my feelings just ten minutes prior.

I always wondered why Christian authors wrote weight loss or diet books. I always figured that Jesus had no place in exercise or eating healthy. I was wrong. Because why wouldn’t He? Why wouldn’t He, the Creator of everything, including me, care about my health and body image? Why wouldn’t He belong there? I know now what has been missing from my motivation for bettering myself: Jesus.

And I know what you’re thinking. Like, duh, right? Well, yeah. DUH. 🙂