Shan vs. the Rock(s)

It has now been six months since I started this blog. It's been over 2 months since I have written anything. It's not that it hasn't crossed my mind - it does almost daily - I just haven't felt INSPIRED (which seems to coincide with how often I actually have time alone with God). I kept thinking an analogy would come to me or some experience would hit me like a ton of bricks - and then it finally did - almost literally.

I was 2 miles in to an 8 mile run with a friend of mine. The path we were running on was mostly paved, but after a while it became gravel, and the farther we ran, the more gravel there seemed to be. All of a sudden, a giant rock leapt out of nowhere and tripped me!(Rocks in Montana are crazy) I did a Pete Rose slide into some nice sharp gravel. For the first time, I really did feel like time slowed down for me. As I was sprawled out with rocks stuck in my hands and knees, I realized I had multiple options: the first was imagining what one of my boys might do [insert screaming, crying & wanting a Superman bandaid], my second thought was maybe to just sit there for a few minutes and take a break from my run. Finally, I wondered "Did anyone see me? That must have looked ridiculous!" Even though only a couple of seconds had passed, I decided just to jump back up and keep on running. (Turns out, my friend was the only one who saw - I'm sure she was laughing on the inside.)

Anyway, back to the story, where I still have six miles to run and my hands and knees are bleeding and throbbing in pain...

I started to get really frustrated as we kept running. The weather wasn't that nice. Running was a hard enough task & now I had to do it in more pain. Rocks were still stuck in my hands. Man, I really felt sorry for myself! It felt a lot like life had felt to me lately!

Later that week, I finally picked up my Bible and started reading. The story was about Paul and how he had tried to share the gospel with some people, but ended up getting stoned. Suddenly, I didn't feel so sorry for myself. Imagine having boulders thrown at your head, in an attempt to kill you! The story says that they dumped Paul's body outside the city thinking he was dead. Then, it says, Paul "got up and went back into the city."

It took me weeks to wrap this story up into something meaningful. I kept looking for an inspiring thought, and I finally came to the conclusion that sometimes, even when I don't feel like it, I just have to GET BACK UP and keep on moving - inspiration or not. Paul was nearly killed - talk about disheartening! But, he got back up. He kept on going and doing what God had called him to.

I guess sometimes you just can't avoid falling down and getting hurt. You just have to get back up, brush yourself off, and keep on going. And, most importantly, you don't have to do it alone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1JBSQMkQEo&feature=related