I'm starting this blog because I'm starting to run.
In the last six months I've run a 5K and I ran (but sure did walk a lot of) a 10K too, but I'm starting a whole new challenge in the new year. This blog is my way of sharing my progress.
I've been thinking about running a marathon for years, but like I said, I'm not a runner. But the idea just wouldn't leave me alone. So I started with my first 5K in June, and trained half-heartedly (hence the walking) for a 10K this September. I thought I might work my way up to the Pittsburgh Half Marathon in 2013 but I wasn't all that committed. I mean lets be real, 13.1 miles is really far!
But then we had a discussion at work that changed my mind. I work at L.I.V.I.N.G. Ministry - a small ministry in Pittsburgh that lives to serve the homeless and needy in the name of Jesus Christ. We share our lives and the Gospel with the men and women in the shelters every day. A few months ago we secured a spot as a contributing charity for the Pittsburgh Marathon, which meant I could run as a part of Team LIVING Ministry!
So with the help of my sponsors (you could be one of them!), I will be running to raise money and awareness for LIVING Ministry. And this blog is how I'll keep myself accountable for my running schedule - but also how I'll be sharing more about the Ministry and why I'm choosing to run this year.
So here it is, Christmas Eve, and I'm writing my first blog entry. I wanted to start writing tonight because tonight is so important.
So many of the homeless don't have the same Christmas experience as you and I. I've been thinking of the women I serve and what they might be doing today and tomorrow. One will be in Texas with family, one will be visiting with her adult children for the first time in years, one will be working at a call center where others with no one to be with can call to talk. But many will be alone, even if they wanted to be with their families those relationships may be too broken to spend the holidays together this year.
And this brokenness is why Christmas Eve is so important. Tonight we remember that we are all broken. Tonight we remember that God is perfect. Tonight we remember that even though we may be with family and friends as we celebrate the holiday, we are very far from God. But tomorrow is the day we remember that we can get back to God - through Christ that gap is closed! And this is what we spend our days sharing at LIVING Ministry, even though we are far from God, Christ brings us back to him, the way things were always meant to be.
So tomorrow I'll eat ham and macaroni and cheese and deviled eggs. I'll drink hot chocolate and ginger ale. I won't make a lot of healthy choices, I'm pretty sure of that. But starting in January, that is going to start to change. I'll be eating better and I'll be running. I'm sure that will be difficult to do. But while I work towards my first half marathon I'll remember that I am running because I want to share that we do not live in Christmas Eve, we live in Christmas! Because of Christmas the things really are just like we sing every year at the end of the Christmas Eve service:
God and sinners reconciled.
