Come Alive

A little over a year ago, God laid on my heart a desire to serve, to go, to experience, to put into practice all my “book smarts.”  Passion rose up in me when I talked about going and the things that I would do here.  Everything was new.  I had never been here.  I didn’t know the people.  But my heart was already full of passion, excitement, and determination to see change.

Last night, I talked with my roommate for hours about that same passion.  I articulated my heart in ways that I hadn’t spoken out loud before.  Except this time, I see the faces.  I see the bare feet.  I see the laughter.  I see the hurt.  I see the potential.  I know the people.  I have my own stories.  I work with people who share stories and passion for these people.  I have them in my heart.  I come alive when I talk about my passion for South Africa, for the kids here, for discipleship, and for the amazing ways God shows up, how He relentlessly pursues us,  and how big He is.

I Can.

Running on base proves to be a little tricky here because I’m not a huge fan of hills.  I avoid them if at all possible.  I much prefer running downhill or on flat ground.  Lately, running proved to be a struggle since I took a week off for Cape Town and then was sick for a while during Family Days.  I’m just now trying to get back into the groove of things.  Though, I’ve been frustrated with my lack of motivation and lack of results.  I hadn’t ran in two days and then started talking with another intern, Allen, about running last night and the upcoming Flatberg race (15k including going up a mountain…).  The conversation gave me the drive to finally get out and complete a “good” run.

I started out this morning determined to get up and go.  I set my alarm and was out the door by 6:05 a.m. with my iPod Nike+ set to a distance of 7k.  About 2k into my run, I got this ridiculous idea that I shouldn’t just run 7k, but, no, I should run a 10k.  Mind you, the farthest I’ve ran in the last week or two has been around 35 minutes.  But, when I decide something that’s that.  So, I kept running and running.  Being bored, I did some run there and then run back along with some circles in the field.  Basically, I did everything possible to not go up hill and still complete a 10k.  All of that to say that I did.  I ran 10.02k in 55:30 min. which translates into a 5:32 min/km pace or a 8:54 min./mile.  This was only 1 minute slower than the 10k I ran in July. Woot!  For being out of practice, I was happy.  Also, I was reminded of the power of determination, persistence, and the need to set my eyes on an achievable goal while not letting my feelings get in the way or let my mind start believing the lies of “I can’t.”

So, what’s been your greatest accomplishment this week?