no real purpose in this post..

So, I ran 6 miles today.
I am exhausted. hah!
I stopped a few times for various reasons and speed walked for a few paces, so I can't say I fully ran 6 full miles, but it was definitely over 5!
Wild. I've never run this far in my life.
And yet, I still harp on myself for not getting the full 6 in without stopping.
Why are we so hard on ourselves?
Months ago I was ecstatic for running A mile without stopping and now I can do well over 2.
Not to mention keep going the distance of 6.

This whole process of running has been terribly therapeutic.
And I mean every word of that statement.
The parallels between physical and mental/spiritual learning are too vast to record, and the stamina I'm building stretches far beyond carnal effects.
But with as much progress as I've made, it's still exhausting.
The last 100 yards I had to literally pray that God would get me through it--and I actually pushed harder than any other part of the run. hm.

I have a lot to write about, but not anything organized.
One thing I will say though is that healing, like running, is painful and exhausting.
We want to quit when it gets too tough, when memories sting our souls, bringing foul tastes to our mouths and that uneasy feeling to our stomachs.
I, at least find it so much "easier" to shove things to the side and pretend like they don't exist.
But reality says that just like I need to run to complete this race, we have to deal with the issues within.
Whether it's other people's wrongs which have affected us, or our own wrong doing that keeps us in pain, we will never be free without 1.) confession and 2.) work (which, according to Webster's dictionary means "exertion of effort to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil").
Unfortunately inner healing doesn't just happen overnight.
God CAN do amazing things through prayer, but we are emotional beings; we are physical and intellectual beings--and those things come into play when healing is required.

So, here's to progress through a painful process which I know leads to life and newness..
one mile/day at a time.