But I don't understand....why would you run 21.2km??

A while ago I wrote out a list of a bunch of things I thought I'd like to do someday....

California, Sept. 2012

I'm not really sure anymore why I decided to write the list.  Probably something made me think that writing things down might make them more likely to happen.  Or maybe I was scared I would forget what I dreamed about. Or it could possibly be because I get a certain satisfaction from listing things on paper....and then checking them off.  There is something about checking things off a list that makes me very happy.

The list has been misplaced in all my moves, but I wish I could find it because I'm pretty sure I could check some things off since the last time it was updated.  If I recall correctly scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef was on there...CHECK!  And seeing the Redwoods in California....CHECK!  And going on an overnight backpacking trip...CHECK!  

One of my more satisfying checks would come from what I did this past Thanksgiving weekend (October 7 for those of you who aren't Canadian). I can now check off "Run a Half Marathon."

21.2km. 2 hours and 24 minutes.  I'm not fast, but I wasn't running to be fast.  I was running to finish.  To prove to myself that I can do more than I think I can.  Because right now more than ever I need to believe that in my weakness I can be used to be part of an incredible journey.  I need to believe that putting one foot in front of the other and taking one day at a time will eventually lead to something meaningful.

BMO Half Marathon, Oct 2012

I'm a missionary.  Full time.  When I say it to other people it feels like I need to explain myself or justify not having a "real job" or using my education the way the recipe says I should.  But it's where I'm at right now, and it really feels like I'm still on the right track.  Each day I put one foot in front of the other, and work on the tasks that need to be completed.  Already I've run much farther than I thought I would in this journey.  And it feels a lot like training for a race.  

The first time I ran 10km I felt good, and I realized....I'm not dead!  I think I can run even farther than this!  I felt the same way in my first teaching job.  And again when I was given huge responsibilities on our YWAM base.  

The first day I ran 12km I thought I was going to pass out.  It felt like a really long way...and I knew I needed to almost double that distance in one month...I didn't know how I would do it.  But I kept putting one foot in front of the other and found myself at the finish line of a half marathon feeling as though I had just finished a 5km run.

I don't want to run a half marathon every day.  I don't even know if I will run one again.  

But I know that I have. 

And I know that I can.  

And that gives me confidence to face whatever comes my way in a life that seems anything but typical.

To end, here's a song that I was reminded of today.  One of my favourite music videos and an amazing band to see live.  My favourite lyric from it goes "And I know there's got to be another level...And I'm feeling like it's now or never, can I break the spell of the typical"

So here I am...now or never...and it's not typical...