7.13 Miles of Praise

What a beautiful fall day here in NYC. A great day. Today is the first time in my life that I have ever run over 7 miles in one shot. 7.13 miles to be exact. And my route today was around the park, down the slope of park, through the garden of carroll, smack through the hook of red, and along the Brooklyn Bridge Park (which is AWEsome ~ imagine me singing that in a girl's voice). I have been inspired by my lil sis (no I'm not in a fraternity/serority) to work on the 'last 15', although it has been a slow go. That last chunk of weight is hard to work off - especially when you like to eat. A lot. But I digress. This day started with my family, blue skies, some work, and breakfast with pastor as we try to do. We enjoyed our delicious bagel, and I shared with him something that has been on my heart as of late. Superstar and I had lunch yesterday and talked about when you sense that God is giving you something, but you are almost afraid to pray about it, because you also sense it is not necessarily something you would choose. I sense He is doing something with my work that is going to change. And I have absolutely no idea what that means. But today, as I ran, I simply spent the time praising Him. Just pouring my heart out to Him and thanking Him for all the wonderful things He gives me. It was great timing as I ran the streets of Brooklyn for me to spend the time praying and reflecting on where I am physically at right now. The streets of Brooklyn. And as God nearly always does when I run, He reminded me of a lot. I think of the state of my physical being 7.13 years ago. 40 pounds overweight, smoker, eating crappy, etc. I think of that and how it was the first year I was a Principal of a school, and what I have learned in my career since then. I think of the transformation spiritually that has taken place in my life over the last 7.13 years, how I have changed to set aside the time to be with God and do my best to listen not to my selfish desires, but His will - PS = NOT PERFECT in that..... And so I ran the miles along the harbor. Looking at lower Manhattan. This bum from the Creek. (Smith type, one each) And I praise Him for what He has transformed me to be. The good works He continues to show in me - because I am not able to do any of these things on my own. Three years ago I started to run in November. I could hardly run for a minute at a time. Today, I run seven miles. How? Training. Building up my physical self. The same is true about my spiritual self - I can't do this, I suck at it. But Christ strengthens me in all things. He has taught me so much about training. And I am thankful for the miles of praise that I shared with Him today. I do not run the race as others do for the prize, but for the eternal glory in Him that created me. Thank you for your grace and mercy and love and justice. Celebrate. 7.13