Mastering My Temptations

“We won’t be distracted by comparison if we are captivated with purpose.” – Bob Goff

Master our Temptation.  Comparison

Running or any competitive sports can tempt you to compare your abilities to other athletes. In the running world there is a very popular ap called "STRAVA". Strava is like a Facebook for athletes. It is a social network that connects runners, biker's, hikers and compiles their data. It is wonderful for logging your runs and all the data that is connected to your activity. 

Truth, is I locked my Strava down. I rarely go on but when I did I found myself scrolling through my Strava feed comparing or coveting, although more than often I encouraged and edified others.  But also, I hid myself from everyone as I began to hear whispers about my own unconventional training. 

My training doesn't make sense to most people. 

All my injuries and recoveries allow people to mumble. The Lord has redeemed me and gifted me in ways that just doesn't make sense to most. I have had 2 ACL surgeries, and meniscus, IT Band injuries, Plantar fascia, and HEY let's go ahead and add an aggressive breast cancer to the mix. And yet I still run at 49 with zeal. The running community is very encouraging, and it is also very competitive. 

Words hurt and whispers damage. I don't recover as well from the whispers as I do the injuries. When I got cancer, I struggled with many demons. I found myself broken in many ways and cancer just brought them all to the surface. 

I had to learn to master my temptations and to stay in my own lane. I had to withdrawal from the audience of all. The only audience I needed with the Audience of ONE. 

I needed His Blessing. 

I needed His Direction. 

I needed His Protection. 

I needed His Clarity, His Grace and Mercy. 

Temptations of Endurance and Grit. 

Pride and Ego a deceiving duo. 

Just because we can endure does not mean we have to. I find myself gritting my teeth and digging my heels in determined to not give up. I am by nature a fighter. 

That is often me just getting "Stuck on Stupid". 

It's me dancing with Pride and Ego. 

It is me looking at the things of earth too long. 

When I surrender to this duo, I am free to LET GO. Saturday, I had a long run, 20 miles planned. The conditions outside were miserable. A consistent 14mph wind mixed with a below zero windchill opened up many options for quitting. I have no big race I am training for right now, so it was no wonder I was struggling with enduring.

It was a FUN RUN. I headed out to start running with Rachel, we ran to pick up Lacey where we ran together and dropped off Rachel and picked up Andy. The three of us headed out and picked up Melissa and dropped both her and Lacey off where Andy and I headed back towards home alone. Thats when "play time" ended. Together we headed out for our last 5 miles back to the car. From there I would run 2 miles home solo. BUT we hit a head wind on Fish Lake that took years off our life. Rachel actually came out to find us and offer us an escape. We declined reluctantly and hunkered down into the wind. 

By the time we made it to the car I was at mile 18 and my temptation was no longer to GRIT it out. "Andy, if you go get coffee, you could easily convince me to quit running home."

WHY? Why did I have to run home anyway? 

Short term success is sometimes ultimate FAILURE. Running 20 miles in miserable weather was no more than EGO. You can do a good thing the wrong way and that becomes a problem. What's the point of killing myself to run long when I don't need to? I was letting my motives matter more than the mission. I was letting the pride of numbers get the best of me. 

I saw Andy on the side of the road with hot coffee and called it in! 

RUNDOWN: 

Weekly Miles: 57 miles. 

Hours Running: 10H

Elevation: 2,223

All information calculated from STRAVA! 

Our worst enemy doesn't live outside the gates, but inside our head. Learning to identify our temptations will lead us to managing them rather than our temptations managing US.  

Comparison and Pride in the world of athleticism are very common. Recognizing your blind spots before they have power over you can be painful. I share my defects as a gift from the Lord. My popularity ratings will mean nothing on the other side of eternity. The Audience of ONE. 

In Peace, Not Pieces,

Anita~

"Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight." Is. 5:21