I hadn't planned on running this morning. I'm still nursing a hamstring injury, so I was planning on taking it easy for another couple of days and just focus on stretching and loosening up my muscles. One of the kids woke me up around 4:45 and then between hunger pangs and a mind with too much to think about I never went back to sleep. For an hour I ate, stretched, and used a heating pad. As I did all of this I read a few more entries from Mile Markers by Kristen Armstrong. The last one I read really caught my attention. Here is the quote the whole entry was based on:
Do the same thing you have always done and you will get the same thing you have always gotten.It hit me like a hammer. It pertained to so many areas of my life, not just running, but parenting, relationships, overcommittment, etc... The list could go on and on. After that I decided to get up and lace up my shoes and head out the door. I only ran two miles and two very slow miles at that, but it was one of the best runs I've had in a long time. Maybe God knew I needed a little refreshing because I walked outside and realized it had rained. It was really humid, but I set out anyway. Anyone who has run with me knows I love to find a sprinkler along the route. I'll run through them all day long. This morning God turned the sprinkler on for me in the form or a nice gentle soaking rain. It had almost a cleansing quality to it. As I neared the driveway I felt refreshed and excited.
So what is the rut in your life? What is that you do the same way over and over without achieving the results you are looking for? Maybe it's dropping the weight you gained over the winter or from vacation, spending quality time with your kids, clearing out the clutter in your house, or a problem in your relationship with your spouse or a good friend? I know all these things hit home with me or have in the past few years. The point is: Change doesn't come about from doing nothing. What are you going to change today?
