There has been a lot going on in the home front. I have been more stressed than I would like to admit. I am so thankful for my runs. With all that is going on being able to run is the best way for me to decompress. When I am running I can actually hear myself think. There are no interruptions other than aching legs and heavy breathing.
I took off leaving Andy behind with all the burdens. I felt bad that Andy was not going for a run. He looked so weighed down.
I decided to go for a 2 hour run. I laced up my HOKAS with my music in my ears and I headed out the door.
The first few miles were tough. My knee was hurting. My body felt fatigued. I could hear my thoughts complaining. I was whiny. Really whiny.
As I came up to mile 8 my sore knee went away as did all other complaints. I finally felt good. I had added a few walk breaks in my run that really made a difference.
As I came home Andy was pulling into the driveway next to me. Together we walked through the garage. As I began to walk into the house Andy said "Hey Nita, Leave your shoes out here."
This brought today's sermon back into my ears. It was such a great sermon for me to hear this morning.
But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. Acts 13:51
Before I left for my run we all took an hour and cleaned the house up from the weekend. It looked spotless. The floors sparkled with the scent of Murphy's Oil soap wafting throughout.
So as I returned my shoes were filthy. The tread was filled with salt and mud. Of course we did not want to track that back into our tidy home.
In Acts we learn that the Jews would:
- They would Kick the dust off their feet when they went into The Holy City. As to not bring their habits etc back with them...
- They would Kick the dust off their feet when leaving a Gentile city as to not bring any bad habits or hangup with them.
REJECTION STILL HURTS: This was title of the sermon. This is exactly how I have felt especially the last couple years. This is why I have decided this is the Year of Overcoming. Letting things GO. Moving ON. Going Forward. In ACTS you see how Peter was REJECTED. The more good he did the more the people rejected him.
I have loved ones that do not like me. Oh I believe that they love me. This thought helps me sleep a little better at night anyway. But despite how much good and love I have shown- they REJECT ME. I do not fit in with them. And I do not want to fit in. We are not meant to fit in. God wants us to Stand out.
But Rejection still HURTS. It is Intentional.
Today I learned to SHAKE THE DUST OFF MY FEET.
This does NOT MEAN I quit Loving. This does not mean I quit Caring, Believing, Hoping or Praying. It just means that I SHAKE THE dust of HURT and DISAPPOINTMENTS that I AM CARRYING.
Similar to tracking all that salt and mud into the house. I leave it at the door as to not get the rest of the house dirty. I love my Runs. I just do not love the mess that sometimes comes with them. The dirt that gets tracked in from them. I leave it at the door. I do not QUIT running because I got a little dirty..I just do not bring the mess in with me to track through everything else.
If I tracked my dirt through the house it would effect EVERYONE including myself.
This is what happens when we live with the hurts others have done to us. We get hurt and we hurt others.
Remember that shaking the dust off your feet does not mean we turn our backs on people that have hurt or rejected us. Rather we remove the hurt that we have. We take responsibility for OUR feelings.
We Let Go of the emotions that make a mess of us.
As you go for your next run think about what you are Tracking In. Do you need to shake the dust off your feet? Do you need to remove feelings of hurt, disappointments, anger or expectations? What are you tracking through your home or life that you need to shake off?
RUNDOWN:
12 miles
12 miles
ANITA
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