Last week, I heard someone say that you should always do what God tells you to do… and if you haven’t heard from Him in a while, go back to the last thing you know He told you to do and keep at it… He’ll be in touch soon. It was said in the spirit of a punch-line, but I think there is some definite truth to it. I’ve certainly seen it in my life. Trouble is, sometimes its difficult to remember what it was God asked, especially since it’s usually something that I didn’t particularly want to do in the first place…
Today, I took a run in the Buffalo Bayou. It’s been something on my Houston to-do list for about a year now—don’t judge, I only moved within sight of it 3 months ago and it’s been so gall dern hot and humid ‘round here during most of that time that I’ve been putting it off. We got a cold front in yesterday though (meaning that the high was only 75—everything is relative) and this morning was crisp and bright and perfect so I deserted the gym and went out to taste a bit of fall! Having never run the Bayou before, I should probably have checked google maps for mileage and a route, but beautiful fall running days are not to be planned, they are to be experienced, with deep breaths and twirls if at all possible, so I just grabbed my keys and headed out!
The way the running path is situated, you run along the Bayou on one side and have opportunities at most overpasses to cross to the other side. The route I took promised to take me about 1.5 miles down the Bayou from my apt and back, but when I got there, I saw that the path continued on the other side of the Bayou with just a quick jog across the Shepherd overpass, so I adjusted course, noting that I was headed back the correct direction towards my apartment and that the landmarks around that area would be familiar.
Running outdoors is such a pleasure, especially when it is beautiful weather and other people and their dogs are out in abundance. Most people, I noticed, weren’t even wearing headphones, but just enjoying the morning with their thoughts or their friends. I saw an overpass that I thought might be a good place to cross back to my side of the Bayou, but I was thoroughly enjoying my run as well so I ignored the instinct and continued on until I reached a point where I could see several familiar buildings and the street I needed to turn onto… about 50 feet above my head with no way up. I thought back to the overpass I had considered before, but always loathe to back-track, I decided to continue forward and see if I couldn’t find another place to cross further up.
I went another 1/3rd of a mile before I saw a pedestrian bridge that was completely blocked off for construction and kept going until I started seeing buildings on either side of the Bayou that I didn’t recognize. I was getting a distinct feeling that I was headed away from the apartment, so I turned around and began to head back, feeling much more comfortable when I again saw the grassy lot adjacent to my apartment building… from a distance still, but those who know my directionally-challenged nature will agree that I can hardly turn up my nose at familiar land-marks! A bit further down, I saw a little path that diverged from the main jogging trail and headed up to street level. I followed it and smiled to find an overpass I recognized as being only a few blocks down from my apartment. Taking it, I relaxed again into the steady rhythm of my stride (slowed down a bit at this point it must be admitted!) When I got home I mapped out my run and saw that, had I continued on instead of turning back, I would have added another two miles to my route.
It occurred to me that following God’s plans can feel very like my run. You set off, knowing generally where you are going and pursue that course. At some point, He nudges you to make a course adjustment and you either do or don’t, and after a while, you see things that are familiar, that jive with what you know of God and His direction or not. Too often when I get that niggling feeling that this is not what God had planned, I try to fix it on my own instead of going back to what I know He called me to do—leaning on myself instead of His bottomless strength. He can redeem any situation, but when I stubbornly refuse to humbly press ‘restart’, I make it more complicated to do so, meaning that the path that might have only been .1 miles of readjustment becomes 2 more full miles of discomfort or unease.
If you don’t know what ‘home’ looks like, it’s easier to get lost, thinking that you’re on the right track; but knowing and checking-in with what you know of home’s distinctive features makes it easier to notice when things are not what they should be, and also when you have re-adjusted correctly and are heading the right direction again. The same is true with the Word. Thank God that He provided something that we can turn to in order to see the re-calculations we need to make on our way!
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