Sometimes the beauty is simply in the showing up

​When I went to bed Friday night I had it in mind to do a long run yesterday morning. I didn't commit to a distance. This is always a warning sign that I'm not completely on board with the 'long' in that long run.

Sure enough, when I woke up yesterday I began negotiating with myself. I should do less taxing miles to give my back a break. I have too much going on to spend all morning running. I just ran a marathon a week ago; I can't possibly be recovered.

The negotiator rambled on and on.

Then my friend Solomon reached out and told me he was tackling a personal running challenge. He was going to run 3.5 miles every hour for as long as he could go - which, by the way, ended up being 12 hours. 😲

His challenge sounded intriguing. I felt new energy. The negotiator quieted.

I told him I was going to do 4 loops. And once I started, with each passing loop, I began feeling the reason I get out there in the first place. Some mornings it's hard to get started. It's easy to be intimidated by the final number. But rarely does the chore fail to become a gift once I start tackling it.

I need to tell you about another area in my life that often feels like a chore.

Prayer.

I'm committed to having prayer in my life. Every morning I sit and turn off all the distractions. I set a timer. And I literally say, Ok God, here I am. I'm all yours until that timer says I'm not.

It's not at all unlike hitting the start button on my Garmin running watch. It's not at all unlike the chore that running often feels like. And it's not at all unlike showing up some mornings simply because I said I'd be here.

But it's also not unlike completing that 4th loop. It's not unlike looking down and seeing 14 miles and knowing 14 wasn't the true gift in showing up.

Running has taught me that to discover the true meaning in something - or someone - you have to keep showing up. You have to show up when the negotiator tries to talk you out of it. Every time.

Discovering the beauty in something comes in being more committed to the search than in the fleeting feeling that something is indeed beautiful.

Running doesn't always feel beautiful, but I've never failed to discover beauty when I showed up for it.

God doesn't always feel real. But I've never failed to discover his beauty when I showed up to search for it.

It's okay for something to feel like a chore. Just be sure to remind yourself there's beauty in doing it when the negotiator tries to tell you otherwise.