I've been riding my bike to the office a few times per week again (now that the wonderful-but-routine-interrupting holidays have passed =). Tuesday morning I cranked it up a notch and made the 6-ish mile ride from my house in 20 minutes. That felt great(!) but was accompanied by a good "burn" in my lungs from sucking all that air!
6 miles sounds long. But 20 minutes really isn't that long when compared to 26.2 (marathon), or 112 (the cycling portion of the Iron Man!) I'm pretty good at sprints (Tuesday morning); the long distance is more challenging.
The apostle Paul compares life in God to a long-distance race. In His kindness, God is revealing (more) sprint-like patterns in my life. I'm grateful for this because I want to develop endurance. I do well with things for a stretch of time (Bible reading, journaling, blogging!!!--all of which have tapered off in the recent month or so); but there's plenty of room to improve my long-haul pace.
I've never run a marathon, but I know there's discomfort involved: the lungs burn, the legs fatigue and cramp, and the body is stretched beyond what's comfortable. It requires great discipline--in the form of commitment, determination, ongoing conditioning, and follow-through--to finish the race.
I hear the Lord calling me into more (the fullness of life stuff that Jesus promises me, us). Getting that stuff requires something of me; right now, it's this kind of discipline, along with a increased willingness to endure discomfort. It's the last thing my flesh wants, but I know better, so I'm choosing the burn! I know the benefit that will come because I've experience it before. Today I'm ready for more.
