Back to the Basics

One year ago on this day, I ran 7 miles. I was a runner--a part of a community of runners. I

was dedicated and engaged. I was part of a community of runners on a journey.

One year ago I was training for the Derby Half Marathon. My son and I were going to run it together to celebrate achievements we had both made over the previous year. One year ago I was 100% certain I would be able to finish it. One year ago I felt competent, confident, and carefree. One year ago....

And then March 11...

On March 11 our state, like many states across the country, shut down. Not unlike many others, I thought this was going to be a very short blip. How wrong I was.

Instead--Covid weight gain, hysterectomy, bladder damage, lack of energy, lack of motivation, frigid temperatures, family drama/trauma--well let's just say I am not running 7 miles today. But I do want to run again. I want to return to being an active part of the community of runners. I have reflected on all the ways I have gotten back into running over the years when I have had pauses for whatever reason. Here's the truth--I ask for advice; I start following a prescribed method; and then I think I know better, and I do what I want. It's always worked, but for whatever reason, this time I knew it wouldn't. 

I downloaded the couch to 5K app. I know several people who have used it and are now incredible runners. Now the truth is, I've used it before but see above--I used it for a while but then dropped it and did what I wanted. This time I decided that not only would I use it until completion, I would also not look ahead. I would listen to the app walking when it told me to and running when it told me to. I would trust the process. I would trust what had worked (yes I did research the reviews) for years for a community of runners.

Back to the basics....

I think our lives of faith are so often like a runner's who has to start again. We are in a rhythm. Our spiritual lives are deepening and increasing just as a runner's miles increase over time. But then something happens and we get derailed. Something happens and we lose our momentum. We stop engaging in our spiritual practices. Maybe we even begin wondering how we still fit into a community of faith. We felt so close to God and to others, and suddenly we're no longer sure.

Back to the basics....

As I was running I thought about our community of faith and the liturgies that shape us. These are our basics--returning to these practices helps us to reengage with God and one another. There is a time-proven method that has "worked" for generations. There is a pattern of living, a routine, that moves us deeper and deeper into relationship with God and each other. 

Going back to the basics, the routine, to the tried and true--it's what forms us into the people God has created us to be.