It is a little weird doing a serious, heartfelt blog post, but I'll give it a try. We've been here now for a little over a month and are now over the halfway point. I'd be lying if I said I haven't been homesck recently, and to someone who rarely gets homesick, it's quite a helpless feeling. During one of my little jogs around the island and idea for a blog post struck me.
We all go through trials in our life. Trials don't always have to be something bad, but usually they will stretch us past what we are normally used to. They can be a relationship, a job, losing a loved one, or a 2 month mission trip. During my run, I found that I could easily compare my "homesick" trial to what I was experiencing jogging. r
First, I'll give a little bit of a background into what jogging is for me.
- I love to jog alone, and I see it very much as a time of peace
- The faster I go, and the longer I go, the better I feel, I always try to push my self
- If I ever have to stop for rest it's embarrassing, and I'd rather deny that I went on a jog at all than tell someone that I had to stop to catch my breath. It's a pride/competitive thing
- It's a means of improvement…strong body, strong mind
- I enjoy every part of it: the warmup, the middle, the hard parts, and most of all the finish
Now the other day I went on a run after not running very consistently during the past 3 weeks. I also haven't been eating the healthiestof foods, but still wanted to run far. It started out as a very cool day, but very conveniently turned into a scorcher mid-run. As embarrassing as it is, I had to stop twice to catch my breath during what is usually a relatively easy 5 mile run. Through this tough run I learned a little about dealing with a trial I was going through. Here are some of the major points.
- It won't always be the fastest run and sometimes you may have to stop because you're tired. It's hard to accept this as not failing, but it's normal, we are human. Trials will come, and we will have to accept them as a part of life, and not necessarily a sign of weakness.
- Some people are better and faster runners. Don't compare how you deal with your trials, or even your trials themselves, with other people's trials and situations.
- Sometimes you may need to seea victory as making it up this next hill, or even putting one foot in front of the other, the finish line may sometimes be too big a goal in the moment. Take your trials day by day, don't reach far and look to when they'll pass, this can discourage you and may result in you not making it.
- Many times when you are off your time you may need a running partner to push/help you. In our trials we need to go to other people. They can help carry our burden, and in some cases they may have the exact same burden placed on them.
- In many runs there will be moments of pain that we need to push through. We need to know that when we finish, that pain will only make that run so much sweeter, and will eventually make us stronger.
- And lastly, it never hurts to say a quick prayer during a run. In our trials we need to be founded in God, reading his Word, and going to Him with our pain.
Trials are a sure thing. Never try to take them on alone, you will always have a heavenly Father who is waiting and so much wanting to help you. Go to Him, and go to His family, your friends. Sometimes you'll have to be vulnerable and tell some people that, as embarrassing as it is, you're a little homesick. The moment you do this, the moment you confide in God and others is the moment you will feel the weight lifted. It may return, but keep confiding in those people and being grounded in God, make your goal reaching the top of the hill, or putting one foot in front of the other. Enjoy the trial, because once you reach the finish line it will feel so sweet.
And you will reach the finish line, even if you are sweaty, and as worn out as I was. Thumbs up to trials in our lives.
