Running through the Pain (written June 8th, 2009)

As I was running today I had bad stomach cramps. Usually stomach cramps are the thing that will stop me from running to walk, but today I just kept thinking of the marathon and the last 6 miles. The last six miles was the hardest on my first marathon and I thought “I need to practice running through the pain.” During this pain, I thought of the phrase “focus on beauty, not pain” which God gave me while training for my first marathon. I began to look at the blue sky and think of what a beautiful day it was. Pain sometimes cripples us to the point where all we can do is take one step at a time. Sometimes we have to just stop in the pain and curl up and just let it hurt. Every step hurts and we wonder if the pain will ever end. If we will keep running and not give up, the pain will eventually subside and it’s then that God speaks. He doesn’t always work that way, but pain usually is so consuming that we have a hard time hearing His voice. It’s not always our inability to hear, but his wisdom to be silent.I don’t even remember when the pain subsided, I just remember getting to the last hill before I got home and realizing the pain was gone. This hill, until recently, has been the dreaded part of my run. I would look at the hill and think I can’t make it, and would overcome by saying “you’ve come too far to quit now.” Now when I get to the hill, I tell the hill “I’m conquering you today!!!” Don’t let the pain stop you, run through it. The strength built through running through the pain will give you the courage to conquer the hills, even the mountains in your life.