He Called Me a Runner
Recently I had a slight health scare. As I went about my morning routine, I felt a pop in my head, the room began spinning and my heart decided to beat a whole lot slower than normal. It was by far one of the scariest moments I have had. In those moments I was pretty sure I was going to die. But that isn't the point to this entry :-)
I was rushed to the hospital and put under a bunch of tests within moments of arrival. Hospitals do not like 40 year olds that have a slow heart rate or low blood pressure. I couldn't stop getting sick long enough to answer many questions and thankfully, God has seen fit to give me a man as my husband that is not afraid to talk.
As time ticked away and each test came back looking splendid, the doctors started asking more and more questions. I could tell they were really disappointed I had not done any recreational drugs; If I had, all their worries could be over. After each question was answered in a way that would not help the doctor figure out what was causing my problem, it was easy to see the confusion and worry on each face. Curt and I were desperately trying to think of some missing piece of the puzzle that could help the doctors solve the mystery of what was wrong. Suddenly, Curt blurts out, "She's a runner."
Have you ever had someone say something to you that seems so unbelievable that you want to say immediately to them, "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" That was the look on the ER doctor's face. Not kidding. He looked at Curt, looked at me, and had he said "Really?" I would not have been surprised.
Even more surprisingly, I wasn't hurt by his shock at this news. I don't look like a runner. At all. I am still 45 pounds overweight and I was laying in a hospital bed with my oversized pjs on with a puke bag around my neck. Even if I had had the decency to have this attack in my running clothes, I don't look like a runner.
Runners are slim, with defined muscles and very little body fat. Runners run a 5K in under 30 minutes. I know this because at a race I attended once, a man came up to congratulate a lady on her time of 28 minutes and he declared (quite loudly I might add), "NOW, you are a real runner. THAT is a runner's time".
That statement has stuck with me. It has haunted me. It has defined how I see myself as a runner/non-runner.
Right up until that day in the hospital when my husband declared to the doctor that I was a runner. The doctor quickly gained control of his facial expression and asked me how much I run in a week. After I told him he looked a little more impressed with me and changed the questions he was asking and eventually we were able to get to the bottom of what was happening with me.
This whole episode got me to thinking; I had a set definition in my head of what a runner is/was and it may not have been the correct definition. It was put there by one outspoken gentleman and in my opinion now, was very erroneous.
I began thinking about the other areas of my life, and the titles I have, and where else might I have incorrect thinking? I am a mom. I am a mother because I have 4 children that God has placed in my care to love, nurture and raise up. I am a wife. I am a wife because I stood before God and made a covenant with Him and the handsome groom standing before me. I am a teacher. I am a teacher, not because I have a degree from a college and a license from the state, but because each and every day I have 4 people that learn from me.
But then I got to the biggest title of all. Christian. This is a word that I really struggle with. I struggle because I believe the definition is completely lost. I struggle because, just like the term "runner", everyone has their own definition they apply to the word and it is far from what the word actually means.
A "Christian" is someone that adheres to the teachings of Christ. You are a "Little Christ". You are not Christian because you live in America. You are not Christian because you attended church when you were younger. You are not Christian because your family has always gone to church. You are not Christian because you go to church every once in awhile, every Christmas or Easter or even if you go to church every week, twice a week or three times a week. You aren't even Christian because you go to a small group Bible study faithfully.
You have the right to call yourself a Christian when you trust in Jesus Christ and all his teachings. When you become a disciple of Christ and seek to follow Him.
There was a point in my life that I gave my life to Jesus. I knew I was a sinner and needed Him. I went forward at the end of a church service and declared to the congregation that I needed Christ. I can still remember the day I was baptized and all the emotions that went along with it. From the moment I surrendered to Jesus I was saved. Saved from my sin because of what Jesus had done on the cross. My desire is to be like Him. I fail so often, but I pick myself up and continue on.
That's a Christian. And there are millions of us around the world, not just in America. We share a common bond; Jesus.
And there are many who claim the name, and are not.
So what sets us apart? How are people supposed to know what the real deal is and what is not?
You will know a runner by the fact that they run.
You will know we are Christians by our love.
I was rushed to the hospital and put under a bunch of tests within moments of arrival. Hospitals do not like 40 year olds that have a slow heart rate or low blood pressure. I couldn't stop getting sick long enough to answer many questions and thankfully, God has seen fit to give me a man as my husband that is not afraid to talk.
As time ticked away and each test came back looking splendid, the doctors started asking more and more questions. I could tell they were really disappointed I had not done any recreational drugs; If I had, all their worries could be over. After each question was answered in a way that would not help the doctor figure out what was causing my problem, it was easy to see the confusion and worry on each face. Curt and I were desperately trying to think of some missing piece of the puzzle that could help the doctors solve the mystery of what was wrong. Suddenly, Curt blurts out, "She's a runner."
Have you ever had someone say something to you that seems so unbelievable that you want to say immediately to them, "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" That was the look on the ER doctor's face. Not kidding. He looked at Curt, looked at me, and had he said "Really?" I would not have been surprised.
Even more surprisingly, I wasn't hurt by his shock at this news. I don't look like a runner. At all. I am still 45 pounds overweight and I was laying in a hospital bed with my oversized pjs on with a puke bag around my neck. Even if I had had the decency to have this attack in my running clothes, I don't look like a runner.
Runners are slim, with defined muscles and very little body fat. Runners run a 5K in under 30 minutes. I know this because at a race I attended once, a man came up to congratulate a lady on her time of 28 minutes and he declared (quite loudly I might add), "NOW, you are a real runner. THAT is a runner's time".
That statement has stuck with me. It has haunted me. It has defined how I see myself as a runner/non-runner.
Right up until that day in the hospital when my husband declared to the doctor that I was a runner. The doctor quickly gained control of his facial expression and asked me how much I run in a week. After I told him he looked a little more impressed with me and changed the questions he was asking and eventually we were able to get to the bottom of what was happening with me.
This whole episode got me to thinking; I had a set definition in my head of what a runner is/was and it may not have been the correct definition. It was put there by one outspoken gentleman and in my opinion now, was very erroneous.
I began thinking about the other areas of my life, and the titles I have, and where else might I have incorrect thinking? I am a mom. I am a mother because I have 4 children that God has placed in my care to love, nurture and raise up. I am a wife. I am a wife because I stood before God and made a covenant with Him and the handsome groom standing before me. I am a teacher. I am a teacher, not because I have a degree from a college and a license from the state, but because each and every day I have 4 people that learn from me.
But then I got to the biggest title of all. Christian. This is a word that I really struggle with. I struggle because I believe the definition is completely lost. I struggle because, just like the term "runner", everyone has their own definition they apply to the word and it is far from what the word actually means.
A "Christian" is someone that adheres to the teachings of Christ. You are a "Little Christ". You are not Christian because you live in America. You are not Christian because you attended church when you were younger. You are not Christian because your family has always gone to church. You are not Christian because you go to church every once in awhile, every Christmas or Easter or even if you go to church every week, twice a week or three times a week. You aren't even Christian because you go to a small group Bible study faithfully.
You have the right to call yourself a Christian when you trust in Jesus Christ and all his teachings. When you become a disciple of Christ and seek to follow Him.
There was a point in my life that I gave my life to Jesus. I knew I was a sinner and needed Him. I went forward at the end of a church service and declared to the congregation that I needed Christ. I can still remember the day I was baptized and all the emotions that went along with it. From the moment I surrendered to Jesus I was saved. Saved from my sin because of what Jesus had done on the cross. My desire is to be like Him. I fail so often, but I pick myself up and continue on.
That's a Christian. And there are millions of us around the world, not just in America. We share a common bond; Jesus.
And there are many who claim the name, and are not.
So what sets us apart? How are people supposed to know what the real deal is and what is not?
You will know a runner by the fact that they run.
You will know we are Christians by our love.
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