And so we bundled up against the 20 degree air and headed for the park. Sister wasn't interested in running and I had arranged to run with my running partner later in the day, so we counted laps towards Eliza's two-mile goal.
The last time she ran with me, she couldn't run more than one lap (1/4 mile) without getting winded. She had been sick and out of school for a week with a nasty cough and fever. She said that she just couldn't run in the cold; it made her cough.
I said, "You've been sick for over a week, and with a lung thing. You'll see. You'll get your strength back."
She ran Saturday without a walk break and in the cold. As we walked back into my toasty apartment, Eliza said, "I really want to reach my goal. I don't know why, but I really, really want to do that."
Her goal is 100 miles.
I don't have her enthusiasm. For me running has just been something else to tick off my to-do list. It is hard and it hurts. Lately though I've used my inhaler before every run and find I am running stronger. Lungs hurt less. Today I hit the hill at the park hard on every lap. And it actually felt good to do so, to work hard.
Perhaps the encourager has become the encouraged one. Isn't that how it often works? When we set out to encourage or bless another, it's oftentimes we ourselves who really receive the blessing.
No comments:
Post a Comment