I went for a jog this morning. This is the time when God and I usually have very good conversations. Of course there are the times that it centers on the phrase, "Just get me through 5 more minutes" which is then repeated every 5 minutes. Other times it's a great time to pray for whatever comes to my mind in that half hour. Still other times it's messages that come through loud and clear through the songs on my ipod (by the way, do you know how many Christian songs are about running?). Well, this morning, two things about Paul's life became very clear. First of all, I now know why he used the race metaphor so often. Second of all, I know what his "thorn in the flesh" was.
As a complete non-athlete (unless you count a few elementary and junior high years in gymnastics and 1 year as a cheerleader), this whole running thing has amazed even me. Spurred on by my best friend who decided we should add a 5K to our *buckette list, I decided to give it a try about this time last year. If there was ever a time I wished I lived in the mid-west, this is it. No matter which direction I choose to run, every hill around my house goes up more than down. For the most part the whole C25K (couch to 5K for those who are athletic and wouldn't have to work so hard at athleticism) thing went pretty well, until winter when I was NOT going to freeze my bippy (a phrase my father always used although I never really asked him what a bippy is so I may be offensive without realizing it - sorry) just to cross something off a list. So, the first nice day of spring I was at it again and again I was doing really well - until it got cold again. So, I will admit that today was the first day out after a week off for "cooler" temperatures. That was my first mistake. My second was forgetting my knee brace (due to a recurring running injury, now doesn't that sound so athletic?). I decided not to go back home for it but to instead tough it out. Bad mistake. That might work for my cross country running 15-year old, but didn't go so well for me.
All this to say that while limping through my run and fighting for every breath, it occurred to me that the mystery of Paul's thorn in the flesh was not such a mystery after all. Any 40 year old first-time athlete in training can tell you that Paul was most certainly a former non-athlete who, for unknown reasons (maybe he also had an ambitious best friend?) decided to train for a 5K. Being at the ripe old age of 40 he quickly found out that age is certainly a thorn in the flesh, even on the straightest of tracks. Have you read his letters lately? There are an awful lot of references to running. That should have tipped me off years ago. But, then again, in the world of running, I guess it takes one to know one, right?
*Buckette List defined - I decided that since my Bucket List was most definitely not as long or as adventurous as most, it didn't qualify to go by the same name. So, I've started referring to my list as my Buckette List. Less pressure and more fun that way.
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