Call Me An Alien

On Saturday morning I did something I have NEVER done...I registered for a race on the spot. JT and Kaitlyn were already signed up to run a local 5K but we all decided that we needed to run longer.

Ensue the morning...wake up at 6:00 (okay, I might want to tell you that a full 8 hours of sleep was simply glorious. We have to get up earlier to go to Crossfit or to run, so 6:00 sounded absolutely amazing!)...get dressed and eat some oatmeal, drink a little water...head to the race site. I changed JT and Kaitlyn's registration to the 10K and signed up myself. What was I thinking?

A year ago, I would have been petrified by a 10K..that's 6.2 miles...and I would have barely been able to breathe even thinking about it. But, today I had a false confidence apparently based on the fact that I have run more at some point. Nonetheless, I was going to run.

As I passed mile marker one, God reminded me of a conversation with a friend recently. She said, "This whole exercising thing is foreign to me." I was struck by her use of the word foreign and it rang true for me too. Then, God showed me how it SHOULD be foreign to me because I am a FOREIGNER or ALIEN here. Look at these verses:


Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God.

John 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

We LONG for the day when we will be in eternity with our Savior. We are just foreigners here. We are not of this world. So, OF COURSE, the things we do are foreign to us. They should feel that way. Perhaps we even enjoy those things sometimes...or not.

I had a hard time running for some reason (I'm guessing that resorting to using the treadmill over the past few weeks because of weather conditions has not helped), but God's strength sustained me. As I hit the 3.1 mark, there was an opportunity to cross the finish line for the 5K. But to the right was a sign labeled "10K turnaround" - I wish I had snapped a photo and put it here. It was such a raw, beautiful thing to me. As I circled around the cones I prayed that God would give me the endurance to keep going. And, He did.

He will be faithful to us aliens here. He will show His power and glory through the lives that we submit to Him. When we say no to unhealthy foods or say yes to the right foods...when we give up our personal preferences to push our bodies to the limit or when we just get moving....He is honored. Daily discipline glorifies Him.

So, come on fellow foreigners...we are three weeks into the new year...keep going for His glory!